Czech Constitutional Court Overturns 2024 Judicial Salary Freeze, Mandates Retroactive Compensation

Constitutional Court Rules Against 2024 Salary Freeze

The Czech Constitutional Court has ruled that the government's freeze on judicial salaries for 2024 was unconstitutional, mandating retroactive compensation for affected judges. The decision, which was made earlier in 2024, requires the state to provide back pay for amounts withheld from January 1, 2024. This ruling addresses the legislative intervention that had capped judicial salaries for the current year.

The court found that the legislature had reduced the coefficient for calculating the salary base for judges from three times the average monthly gross wage to 2.822 times, without presenting compelling arguments for such a reduction. Under the standard calculation, the base salary should have exceeded CZK 130,000, but the government had capped it at CZK 121,685 for 2024, citing fiscal savings targets. The Justice Ministry initially estimated the costs of retroactive compensation, including interest and legal costs, at over CZK 800 million, later revising the total expected costs to CZK 620 million.

A History of Interventions and Differentiated Rulings

This is not the first time the Czech Constitutional Court has addressed legislative interventions in judicial salaries. The court has previously examined salary restrictions for 2021 and 2022, demonstrating a nuanced approach to retroactive compensation based on prevailing economic conditions.

• 2021 Freeze: The court's Plenum deemed the salary freeze for 2021 constitutionally valid. This decision was influenced by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and its severe economic consequences, with the court emphasizing the need for judges' solidarity with societal hardships during that period. No back pay was awarded for 2021.
• 2022 Freeze: While the Constitutional Court found the salary freeze for 2022 to be unconstitutional, it concluded that judges would not receive back pay. The court acknowledged the severe economic situation caused by the war in Ukraine, extraordinarily high energy prices, and unprecedented inflation as factors that outweighed judges' demands for reimbursement.

The court has consistently criticized the government's 'unsystematic interventions' in judicial remuneration, but its willingness to mandate retroactive compensation appears to be reserved for periods not marked by extreme national crises.

Government Response and Ongoing Debates

The Justice Ministry has stated its respect for the Constitutional Court's decision regarding the 2024 salaries. However, legislative efforts to modify judicial remuneration continue. In March 2025, a new measure was adopted that retroactively changed the application of the salary adjustment method for 2025, reducing the base level by approximately 5%. This measure, which also affects the salaries of the President, members of parliament, and government ministers, was vetoed by President Petr Pavel but subsequently overridden by the Chamber of Deputies. Critics, including the Judicial Union and the Union of Public Prosecutors, have warned that this latest amendment is also likely to face constitutional challenges.