Judicial Council Approves Pay Rise for Magistrates and Judicial Employees

Bulgaria’s Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has approved a 5% increase in salaries for magistrates and judicial employees, effective from 1 January 2026, the legal news website lex.bg has reported.

The pay rise falls well short of the 18% increase initially envisaged by the SJC in its draft budget for this year. The reason is that parliament has failed to pass the 2026 State Budget Law, following mass protests across the country that ultimately led to the resignation of the government.

As a result, at the end of last year lawmakers adopted a temporary Law on the Collection of Revenues and the Making of Expenditures in 2026, which remains in force until a full state budget is approved.

Under Article 3, paragraph 2, third sentence of the so-called budget extension law, the basic monthly salaries reached as of 31 December 2025 in budget-funded organisations may not be reduced or increased within the same position, with the exception of employees on the minimum wage and a one-off indexation equal to the accumulated annual inflation as of 31 December 2025 for all others.

On 21 January, the Council of Ministers adopted a decision setting annual inflation at 5%, based on the consumer price index published by the National Statistical Institute. This is why the increase in magistrates’ and judicial staff salaries is limited to that level.

Following the adjustment, the basic salaries of Supreme Court judges, Supreme Cassation and Supreme Administrative prosecutors, as well as investigators from the National Investigation Service, rise to €4,874 (previously 9,079 leva).

Magistrates at appellate level will receive €4,032 (up from 7,511 leva). Judges and prosecutors at regional level in Sofia will earn €3,606 (6,716 leva), while their counterparts in other regional courts and prosecutor’s offices will receive €3,334 (6,210 leva).

Salaries for magistrates at the Sofia District Court and the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office will increase to €2,928 (5,454 leva), while those working elsewhere in the country will be paid €2,630 (4,899 leva).

The pay of junior magistrates will also rise, reaching €2,450 (previously 4,564 leva).

Rank-based supplements are likewise being increased by 5%. For first-rank magistrates, the additional payment will amount to €258 (up from 480 leva).