The Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs approved the funds for the judiciary in the state budget for 2026 in first reading. A total of 10 deputies voted "for" and six were "against" the proposals of the Council of Ministers, BTA reports.
The deputies rejected the proposals of the Supreme Judicial Council without a single vote "for", six votes "against" and ten abstained.
During the committee meeting, the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev commented on the budget of the judiciary. It is in the order of things that the system that provides the justice service should be oriented in terms of expenditure towards staffing all outgoing and determining resources, he said.
According to the report of the Budget and Finance Committee, the Council of Ministers proposes for 2026 a reduction in revenues under the judiciary budget for 2026 by 11.3 million euros compared to 2025. The Council of Ministers proposes that the total amount of expenditure be set at 816.0 million euros or an increase of 108.2 million euros compared to those approved by the ZDBRB for 2025. With the estimates prepared in this way, the difference in expenditure between the two projects amounts to 180.2 million euros.
The funds planned for current expenses for the implementation of the activities of the judicial institutions amount to 785.2 million euros, with the increase compared to 2025 is in the amount of 100.7 million euros, including 98.0 million euros for personnel costs. In the part of capital expenditures, the funds have been increased by 7.5 million euros compared to 2025.
The Council of Ministers supports the proposal of the SJC to maintain the reserve for unforeseen and/or urgent expenses at the level of 2025 in the amount of 0.5 million euros. The budgetary relationship with the central budget for 2026, which is a result value between the planned budget indicators of the budget of the judiciary, is proposed to be in the amount of 741.8 million euros. The difference in the budget relationship with the central budget for 2026 between the two projects is 193.0 million euros.
The Supreme Judicial Council proposes for 2026 a reduction in the level of revenues under the judiciary budget for 2026 by 16.4 million euros compared to the ZDBRB for 2025. In the SJC project for 2026, the total amount of expenses is 996.2 million euros (an increase of 288.4 million euros compared to those approved with the ZDBRB for 2025), of which 923.4 million euros are for current expenses (238.9 million euros more compared to 2025), and an increase in personnel funds by 201.4 million euros compared to 2025 is envisaged. The proposal is to maintain the reserve for unforeseen and/or urgent expenses at the level from 2025 in the amount of 0.5 million euros. The budgetary relationship with the central budget for 2026 is proposed to be in the amount of 934.8 million euros.