CSM publishes updated net salary data for judges after ECHR ruling

The Superior Council of Magistracy (CSM) has published updated figures on the net monthly allowances earned by judges working at district courts, tribunals and courts of appeal. The move, announced on Wednesday, comes after what the council described as public debate triggered by a European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on 22 October.

That decision, in the case of Pușcașu and others v. Romania, rejected financial claims from a group of judges who had sought salary arrears established by final court judgments. In its note, the CSM said it was presenting current data on judicial allowances and some European comparison points.

According to the salary grids for October 2026, net monthly allowances vary according to professional grade, seniority and gradation. The CSM did not include figures for judges at the High Court of Cassation and Justice in the published document.

The data cover 4,544 judges as of 26 October 2026. Of these, about 46 per cent work at district courts (2,076 judges), 33 per cent at tribunals (1,503 judges) and 21 per cent at courts of appeal (965 judges). The breakdown also shows that many judges hold professional grades above the level of the court where they currently sit.

For comparison, the National Institute of Statistics reported that the average net salary in Romania was 5,688 lei in August 2026, with a gross average of 9,497 lei. The CSM calculated that a trainee judge at the minimum of the scale earns a gross allowance equal to 1.26 times the national average gross salary. A permanent judge with a district court grade at the minimum of the scale earns 1.89 times the national average gross salary.

The council also referred to the EU Justice Scoreboard 2026, based on CEPEJ data from 2024. The arithmetic mean of the 27 published values for EU member states was about 2.13 times the national average gross salary. Romania sits below that average, the CSM noted.

Earlier, in July 2025, the council published a comparative analysis of starting salaries for judges. That report placed Romania 20th out of 27 EU states for gross income and 22nd for net income.