Judicial Association Advocates for 200 New Positions

The Austrian Judicial Association has initiated a petition to highlight the pressing need for 200 additional judicial positions. The association's president emphasized the urgency of this requirement, acknowledging the ongoing budget challenges while pointing out that the judiciary has faced significant resource constraints over the past decade.

The call for new positions stems from a personnel demand assessment conducted by the Ministry of Justice, which evaluates the workload of district and regional courts. This assessment quantifies typical legal actions, such as traffic accidents or divorce proceedings, assigning a time value to each case. The analysis revealed a shortfall of 177 positions at the start of 2025. When accounting for newly legislated mandates, such as the reimbursement for defense costs and the revised guidelines for mobile phone confiscation, the total demand rises to approximately 200 positions--about 15% of the current 1,500 judicial roles across district and regional courts.

Moreover, the complexity of legal proceedings has increased, a point raised by the association's president. Family law cases often require interpreters and the application of foreign legal principles, further complicating court management. Additionally, there has been a notable and sustained rise in case numbers; for instance, in 2024, there was a 12% increase in general civil litigation at the regional courts and a 13% rise in labor law cases compared to the previous year. The criminal cases also saw a 5% increase.

The estimated cost of adding 200 new positions is around 30 million euros. In comparison, 70 million euros have been allocated to support the increase in defense cost reimbursements, an initiative that the association supports.

The association president remarked on the limited advocacy for judges, stating that while they represent one of the three branches of government, their influence often feels constrained by the other branches. Many judges are now working at 120% of their capacity, leading to concerns about the potential for delayed legal processes. Such delays could undermine public trust in the legal system and, by extension, affect the economic standing of the country.