The CSM asks the Government to unblock the employment of judges and clerks: “It is a defiance of the judiciary”. How many positions are vacant?

The Judges' Section of the Superior Council of Magistracy announces that it has requested, for the fourth time since the beginning of the year, that the Government and the Ministry of Justice start the procedure to fill vacant positions of judges and clerks, given that the judicial system is facing a major shortage of human resources and a large case load.

The CSM submitted three major requests to the Government:

• “unblocking the competitions for direct admission to the judiciary suspended by the act
  normative, in order to reduce the national deficit of judges and prosecutors;
• the allocation of clerk positions, considering that 4874 positions are needed, and in 6
  years, at least 600 positions were promised and not a single position was allocated;
• the establishment of the positions of judges' assistants, an additional number of being necessary
  712 positions of assistant judges to ensure an optimal ratio of at least 1
  judge's assistant to 3 judges.”

850 judge posts are vacant

The CSM specifies that the last competition for direct admission to the judiciary was started on July 25, 2024, and the deficit is 444 judges at the courts and 349 judges at the courts.

“There are 850 vacant judge positions, which also include the vacant positions from the reserve fund, out of the total of 5364 positions (a total that also includes the 291 approved positions from the reserve fund
book). Thus, the degree of occupancy is 84.51%”, says a press release from the CSM.

Among the courts with a large shortage of staff, the Strehaia Court (which operates with only 1 judge), the Calafat Court (vacancy percentage 71%), are mentioned
Miercurea-Ciuc Court (vacancy percentage 58%), Agnita and Haţeg Courts (percentage of
vacancy 50%), Brezoi, Ineu, Lehliu Gară, Panciu, Săveni, Simleu Silvaniei, Târgu-Bujor, Vişeu de Sus and Zimnicea Courts (vacancy percentage 40%).

First in the EU for file uploads

The CSM also mentions the increase in the number of cases reaching the courts.

“The volume of activity of the courts is significantly affected by two factors, such as
shown in the present, respectively a number 4 times higher than the European average of files
new entrants (8.42, compared to the European average of 2.20) and a constant growth during the last
10 years, until the doubling of this number of newly entered files (from 4.16 cases/ 100 inhabitants in
2013 to 8.42 cases/100 inhabitants in 2024), placing Romania in the first position in the Union
European, from 26 states that provided data”, mentions the quoted source.

The council accuses the Ministry of Justice of ignoring monthly appeals to increase the posts of clerks, although the deficit of more than 4,800 posts was known as early as 2019. The last addition, with 200 posts, was made in 2020, and subsequent calls were not answered.

“

The approach of the executive power is in defiance of the judicial power and is outside the constitutional loyalty and cooperation between the state powers

Superior Council of Magistracy

“The Government of Romania has adopted measures for the organization of competitions in the fields of education and health, but refuses any similar approach for the allocation of positions and the direct recruitment of personnel from the judiciary”, claim the judges from the Superior Council of the Magistracy.

“On top of the executive's defiant attitude towards the Council is superimposed an attitude of total ignorance of the recurring appeal regarding the collapse that the justice system may enter
due to the chronic overloading of judges and clerks in office, for management
the current volume of activity, to the detriment of the entire society and the rule of law itself”, the statement also says.