The Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) has drawn attention to the 'unprecedented' difficulties currently facing Romania's justice system in terms of the shortage of judges, court clerks and judicial assistants, stating that the deficit of judges remains at 15%.
'In continuation of the information recently presented regarding the workload of the courts, which is four times higher than the European average, and in order to ensure the proper and complete information of society about the unprecedented difficulties currently faced by Romania's justice system, we present the situation of the human resources deficit at court level, namely judges, court clerks and judicial assistants. Of the total national establishment of 5,071 approved judicial posts in Romania, 759 posts - namely 15% - are currently vacant. To these are added 51 vacant posts out of the 283 approved from the reserve fund. In total, the number of vacant judicial posts amounts to 810,' the CSM said in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Friday.
According to the same source, at the level of the courts of first instance (district courts and tribunals), 721 posts are vacant, representing 95% of the total number of vacant posts, excluding those approved from the reserve fund.
'Since 2019, following an analysis carried out at Council level, it has been found that the courts' workload has increased significantly, while the staffing levels of auxiliary personnel have remained unchanged, thus becoming understaffed. In order to ensure an appropriate judge-to-clerk ratio, 4,874 additional clerk posts would have been required. This matter was brought to the attention of the executive within a working group set up for this purpose, and it was agreed at that time that an increase in auxiliary staff levels was necessary, with supplementation to be carried out gradually, by 200 posts annually. A single increase in staffing levels was implemented in 2020, with 225 posts,' the Council emphasised, adding that discussions with the Ministry of Justice were resumed in 2023, when the establishment of 600 clerk posts for the period 2021-2023 was undertaken, with the trend of 200 posts per year to be maintained thereafter.
The CSM recalls that it has consistently, month by month - most recently in February 2026 - returned to the Ministry of Justice with the request to establish the 600 clerk posts requiring higher education, a measure that remains a priority. All steps taken by the Council in this regard have been ignored.
'In February 2026, reiterating the address sent in January 2026, the Council requested that the Government of Romania initiate legislative action to increase the maximum number of posts at court level, so as to enable the creation of new judicial assistant posts at all courts of appeal, tribunals and specialised tribunals, by ensuring a ratio of at least one judicial assistant to three judges. The Council's request is justified by the need to implement practical and functional solutions to unblock the situation in which the courts find themselves. Given the constant increase in the number of cases, it is evident that the immense effort of judges must be supported by support staff, for whom there is indeed a legal provision, in Article 150 of Law 304/2022, unfortunately only formal, as it is ignored, as in many other situations,' the Council stated.
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