Bulgaria’s Finance Ministry has downsized the judiciary budget requested by the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) for 2015 by over BGN 80 M.
For yet another year in a row, there has been a serious discrepancy between the request of VSS and the sum which the government is willing to allocate, according to Bulgarian magazine Legal World.
The final decision on the judiciary budget is taken by Parliament.
VSS insists that the judiciary’s expenses in 2015 amount to a total of BGN 543.7 M, up by over BGN 110 M from 2014, while the Finance Ministry plans to allocate a total of BGN 460 M to the judiciary in 2015, or just as much as it was granted in 2014.
In 2014, the judiciary was plagued by a serious shortfall and its budget had to be increased by BGN 20 M.
The budget of the prosecuting authority has suffered the harshest cut.
According to the forecast of VSS, the prosecuting authority needs over BGN 200 M in 2015, while the Finance Ministry estimates its expenses at around BGN 178 M.
The 2015 budget of VSS has also been downsized.
Bulgarian courts are also to get less funding, with VSS seeking a budget of BGN 260 M, while the Finance Ministry plans to allocate a total of BGN 240 M to them.