Judges say extending pay restraint through 2031 would be unconstitutional

Estonia’s Judges’ Association says the government’s plan to keep judges’ salary increases at half the normal rate until 2031 would violate their rights and the Constitution, ERR reported.

Under a 2023 law, the salary indexation of senior public officials was temporarily cut by half to save 20 million euros over four years. The reduction was due to end on March 31, 2028, with normal indexation resuming on April 1 that year.

On Monday, Education Minister Kristina Kallas said the government had decided to extend the reduced indexation as part of its draft state budget for next year and its 2027-2030 budget strategy. She said the extension would not apply to members of parliament, who set their own pay arrangements.

The Judges’ Association wrote to Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi on Monday, saying judges and the association had not been informed of the planned change. Association chair Anu Uritam asked the government to bring the budget strategy into line with the law currently in force.

Judges have already challenged the temporary reduction in court. They argue it conflicts with legitimate expectations, legal certainty, the separation of powers and equal treatment. Uritam said judges are entitled to adequate pay to safeguard their independence, impartiality and expertise.

According to Uritam, courts considering the earlier complaints have treated the temporary nature of the measure as an important condition for its constitutionality. She said extending the restraint beyond the period set out in law would violate judges’ rights and their expectation that normal indexation would resume in April 2028.

Uritam also said courts have found it increasingly difficult to fill vacancies in recent years, while some serving judges have left their posts. Continued pay restraint could eventually make it objectively impossible for the state to ensure that justice is delivered within a reasonable time, she said.

Judges objected to the pay reduction when it was introduced in 2023. The law limited salary increases for county and administrative court judges to 300 euros in 2024 and a few hundred euros in 2025. Senior public officials covered by the indexation rules also include ministers, ministry secretaries-general and members of parliament.