North Macedonia Constitutional Court judges to receive higher salaries from October

North Macedonia’s Constitutional Court (Ustavni sud) voted to increase the salaries of its president and judges effective 1 October. The court annulled parts of the Law on Pay and other remunerations for elected and appointed officials, reinstating the previous higher pay coefficients – 3.08 for the president and 2.85 for the judges – after they had been reduced to 2.81 and 2.60. Preliminary estimates suggest the change will raise monthly earnings by at least €200.

The decision, motivated by the court’s claim of a special constitutional status and the need for material security to ensure judicial independence, was made on the court’s own initiative. The government and parliament were invited to comment but did not respond within the prescribed deadline. The move also creates a temporary situation where Supreme Court (Vrhovni sud) judges retain higher coefficients than their Constitutional Court counterparts until the new rates take effect. Public reaction has been minimal.