6880 Judges in 2026: The High Council of Justice Determined the Number of Judges in Local and Appellate Courts
The High Council of Justice determined the number of judge positions in local and appellate courts for 2026, taking into account the advisory opinion of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine.
The decision was made in accordance with the Law "On the High Council of Justice" and considering the appeals of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine regarding the conduct of competitions for filling vacant judge positions.
As noted, the SJA proposed a phased implementation of the normative number of judges in 2026–2028, based on court workload, actual staffing levels, recruitments/competitions of the HQCJ, and the state's available budgetary resources under martial law conditions.
According to staffing standards, the total need for judges in local and appellate courts is 11,539 positions. At the same time, due to limited budget resources, a gradual approach to reaching this figure is planned.
For 2026, 6,880 judge positions have been defined, including:
- in local general courts — 4,386;
- in local commercial courts — 629;
- in local district administrative courts — 720;
- in appellate courts for civil, criminal cases and cases of administrative offenses — 777;
- in appellate administrative courts — 204;
- in appellate commercial courts — 164.
The High Council of Justice emphasized that the phased implementation of the normative number of judges will ensure a balance between the judicial system's staffing needs, the necessity to guarantee access to justice, and the state's financial capabilities.
The SJA's approach to the gradual implementation of staffing standards for court apparatus employees was also approved, which should contribute to preserving the institutional capacity of the judicial system and the staffing potential of court apparatuses.
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