Lithuanian court chief says €1,300 net salaries fail to attract staff to judiciary

Lithuania’s court system is struggling to recruit both new and experienced staff due to low wages, with even a net salary of €1,300 proving insufficient to attract talent, the head of the Supreme Court has warned.

Danguolė Bublienė, chair of the Council of Courts and president of the Lithuanian Supreme Court, told ELTA that judicial funding in Lithuania remains among the lowest in the EU, creating systemic challenges—including uncompetitive pay.

“We can’t keep having to convince people every year how important it is to properly fund the courts,” Bublienė said in an interview, noting that the Council of Courts has proposed legislative amendments to establish objective criteria for adequate and sustainable judicial financing.

She highlighted that while public trust in the courts has risen—reaching 46% in national surveys and 56% in Eurobarometer data for general trust (52% among business leaders)—Lithuania still lags behind Scandinavian levels, where trust ranges from 60% to 80%.

Bublienė attributed the recent increase in trust to long-term communication efforts, including public education on how courts operate beyond high-profile cases. The Supreme Court now issues 165 press releases annually to explain rulings, covering a third of its decisions, and tailors information for audiences including students.

“We want people to understand legal reasoning, distinguish fact from misinformation, and critically evaluate judgments,” she said, adding that courts also proactively address topics of public interest to improve transparency.