The Council of Judges of Ukraine will appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers due to non-compliance with the law on judicial remuneration

During the meeting on July 21, the Council of Judges of Ukraine supported an appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the provision of funding for judicial remuneration following the entry into force of amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges," introduced by Law No. 4905-IX dated June 9, 2026.

The Council of Judges stated a critical situation with the payment of judicial remuneration after the amendments to the Law "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges" came into effect. The cause was the Ministry of Finance’s refusal to increase the state budget expenditures for 2026 to comply with the new legislative norms.

During the meeting, the Chairman of the Council of Judges of Ukraine, Vitaliy Salikhov, reported that the Council, together with the Head of the State Judicial Administration, had appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Finance requesting the provision of funding for the payment of judicial remuneration at the new rates.

According to him, the Ministry of Finance stated that an increase in the relevant expenditures in the State Budget for 2026 is not foreseen. At the same time, the ministry noted that the issue of additional funding may be considered during the preparation of the 2027 State Budget draft.

Vitaliy Salikhov also pointed out that some courts are already applying the new amounts of judicial remuneration.

"Currently, the High Anti-Corruption Court is already paying judges judicial remuneration at the new rates, as it is a first-level budget administrator and independently approves the staffing schedule. The Constitutional Court of Ukraine has also decided to increase judicial remuneration," he noted.

According to the Chairman of the Council, this situation violates the principle of the unified status of judges enshrined in the Law of Ukraine "On the Judiciary and the Status of Judges." Therefore, the Council of Judges has prepared an appropriate appeal, which it plans to adopt.

A representative of the State Judicial Administration reported that the Council of Judges, the State Judicial Administration, and the Head of the Supreme Court proposed two ways to resolve the issue to the Ministry of Finance.

The first involved providing funding from the general fund of the state budget by amending the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026."

The second was the use of funds from the special fund. In particular, the State Judicial Administration proposed allocating about 1.25 billion UAH for the payment of judicial remuneration.

However, the Ministry of Finance refused to implement both proposals. In its letter, the ministry stated that no amendments had been made to the Law "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026," and therefore there are currently no grounds for recalculating judicial remuneration according to the new calculation amount.

Despite this, the State Judicial Administration declared that it will continue to initiate the resolution of the issue. In particular, it plans to prepare a new appeal regarding amendments to the state budget and to again propose to the government to allow the use of undistributed funds from the special fund to finance the payment of judicial remuneration. Considering the change in the composition of the Cabinet of Ministers, the State Judicial Administration hopes for a renewed government review of this issue.

At the same time, participants in the meeting emphasized that the draft appeal should remain consistent with the position of the High Council of Justice, which a week earlier had already appealed to the President of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers with proposals regarding the funding of increased judicial remuneration. In that appeal, the High Council of Justice primarily proposed allowing the use of funds from the special fund of the state budget, and if insufficient, to initiate amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine."

The Head of the State Judicial Administration reported that, given the current dynamics of receipts, the special fund potentially allows providing the necessary financial resources for the payment of judicial remuneration at the new rate. According to the State Judicial Administration’s calculations, by the end of 2026, the volume of such resources may amount to about 2.5 billion UAH. In addition, funds from the special fund may also be directed to increase the salaries of court staff and judges' assistants.

Following the discussion, the Council of Judges supported the draft decision with the proposed amendments. The project, revised taking into account the proposals of the Council members, was adopted unanimously. Thus, the Council of Judges of Ukraine will officially appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers with a demand to ensure compliance with the legislation regarding proper funding of judicial remuneration.

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