Finance Minister Goranov: No Money to Raise Salaries in the Judiciary

Sofia, February 26 (BTA) - There is no money to raise the
salaries in the judiciary, as the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC)
wants, Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov said. He was invited
to Thursday's meeting of the SJC to discuss a 12 per cent
proposed raise of magistrate salaries which the council says
have not been raised in the last three years.

Goranov suggested that revisions be made to the Judiciary Act in
which way the salaries of the magistrates will be calculated in
a different way.

SJC member Yuliana Koleva said there are inadequacies in the
court fee tariffs. For example, a fee of merely 50 leva is paid
for extremely difficult cases. The collectability of
receivables, in her opinion, is another problem which stands
between SJC and the National Revenue Agency (NRA). This is a
matter of expenses made to dispense justice. About 35 million
leva of the judiciary have not been collected by NRA last year,
SJC member Sonya Naidenova explained.

Goranov, in turn, said he is tempted to suggest a change of the
court fee tariffs. The balance between access to justice and the
real price of the service offered to the public on the part of
the judiciary should be sought. A step in this direction should
be made anyway, he said and added he will also discuss the
matter with the Justice Minister.

He hinted that an increase of the nominal at the expense of the
proportional fees may be discussed and linked the subject of the
fees with the quality of dispensed justice.

According to SJC member Roumen Georgiev, Goranov's objection
that "there is no money" is unfounded. He did not agree with the
Finance Minister that justice is a service and declared that
the judicial system cannot be self-supporting.

"I cannot accept that yesterday the National Assembly debated a
16,000 million leva debt and today we are discussing a 12 per
cent increase of the salaries in the judiciary," Goranov
responded.

Maintenance of high payment of magistrates is related to the
good quality of justice, Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov said.
Steps should be marked out to find the necessary funds and a
public discussion on court fees should begin by the end of next
week, he suggested.