The Constitutional Court left the Law on the State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria for 2026 in force, but annulled two groups of provisions adopted together with it. The change in the mechanism for determining the remuneration of magistrates and the amendments to Article 355 of the Labor Code have been declared unconstitutional.
The decision was issued in cases initiated at the requests of members of parliament from the 52nd National Assembly and the Ombudsman. They challenge both the budget in its entirety and individual texts included in its transitional and final provisions.
The budget remains in force
The Constitutional Court rejects the request to declare the state budget for 2026 unconstitutional. One of the main issues in the case is related to the rule for a budget deficit of up to 3% of gross domestic product.
According to the court, this threshold is introduced in national legislation, but its possible violation may require corrective measures, without automatically leading to the unconstitutionality of the entire budget. The decision also takes into account Bulgaria's obligation as a member state of the European Union to comply with the general rules on public finances.
The formula for magistrates' salaries has been repealed
The Constitutional Court declares unconstitutional part of the change in the Judiciary Act, which binds the salaries of judges, prosecutors and investigators to 60% of the basic monthly salary of a member of parliament.
The Court accepts that the annual budget cannot make a permanent change to the established mechanism for determining magistrates' salaries. According to the decision, this goes beyond the permissible connection with the State Budget Act and affects the stability of the status of magistrates.
The changes to the Labor Code are also repealed
The amendments to Article 355 of the Labor Code, adopted through the transitional and final provisions of the Budget Act, have also been repealed. The court's reason is that these texts are not directly related to the state's revenues and expenditures for the relevant year and it was not permissible to include them in the budget in this way.
The Constitutional Court did not rule on the merits of another contested text, since the effect of the provision had already been exhausted. 11 constitutional judges participated in the proceedings. Some of them have signed separate opinions and statements on the repealed provisions, which are yet to be published.
Thus, Budget 2026 continues to operate, but the repealed texts on magistrate salaries and the Labor Code cannot remain in force.
Sources: nova.bg