12 January, 2023
On Thursday, January 12, the Chair of the Judicial Council, Aigars Strupišs, met with the Minister of Justice, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere. The salary of court employees was discussed, which will increase by 16% after the approval of the state budget. Moreover, the state officials agreed to form a working group to strengthen the status of the Judicial Council.
The Chair of the Judicial Council informed the Minister of Justice about the current situation and the collective letter received from a total of 924 court employees regarding their salary, which is not adequate and competitive in the conditions of high inflation, as well as he spoke about the employees' request to increase the salary by 24%. Whereas, the Minister of Justice stated that the request for 4.4 million euros for court employees is currently being discussed to be included in the 2023 state budget. Thus, after the approval of the state budget, a 16% salary increase is expected for court employees. The Minister of Justice emphasized that it is planned that the state budget could be effective starting from April 1, 2023.
The two state officials also discussed the status of the Judicial Council and strengthening the independence of the judiciary. The Chair of the Judicial Council, Aigars Strupišs, and the Minister of Justice, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, agreed on the need to form a joint working group, which would evaluate, for example, the possibility of the Judicial Council to take over the issues of courts’ management.
Furthermore, state officials agreed on joint cooperation in the creation of the Judicial Academy, which will be an important contribution to the sustainable development of the judicial system.
Within the framework of the meeting, the Chair of the Judicial Council, Aigars Strupišs, also informed the Minister of Justice, Inese Lībīņa-Egnere, about the strategic goals of the Judicial Council such as strengthening the independence of the judiciary, reducing the influence of the executive power, and improving the efficiency of the judiciary. Whereas, the Minister of Justice, Inese Lībiņa-Egnere, spoke about the commitment of the new government to fulfil what is defined in the declaration, namely to strengthen not only the independence and capacity of the courts and the status of the Judicial Council, but also to work on an efficient procedure of executing all court rulings.