BRATISLAVA, September 30, (WEBNOVINY) — The Justice Ministry will get more money next year compared to the originally approved budget for this year. According to the Finance Ministry’s proposal it will be EUR 291.4 millions, which is more by EUR 21.4 millions in comparison with this year. The increase should represent 7.9 percent; actual expenditures will however decrease by 2.84 percents. The approved budget for 2010, in its operating expenditures, did not cover entitlements for legal experts, ex offo lawyers, notaries, witness compensation, interpreters and translators. This has caused a debt for the Justice Ministry because of unpaid invoices for these services. Approved budget in 2010 also did not reflect the needs in section of individual account and reimbursement of this section which are related to compensations of natural persons according to effective laws. This is the reason why the budget was adjusted by EUR 27.9 millions in year 2010.
The Justice Ministry has to solve three financial problems. In the first place, the number of persons serving a prison term and those in pretrial custody has increased by 13.2 percents in comparison with the average from previous years. According to the budget proposal “another increase of the number of prisoners may be expected”. The second problem is the reality that within the department adequate resources were not budgeted for allowances for legal experts, ex offo lawyers, notaries, witnesses, interpreters and translators what caused an increase of Ministry’s overdue debts from unpaid invoices for these services. The third problem was added since 2008; there is an increasing deficit on individual pension accounts for members of the Correctional and Courtroom Security Corps.
The volume of payroll expenditures is budgeted at EUR 207 millions for 2011, which in comparison with approved budget for year 2010 represents a decrease by 3.1 percent (EUR 6.62 millions). The decrease is affected by cancellation of one post of state secretary, inclusion of one percent of valorization from year 2010 for all employees except judges where the salary increase was included on the level of 2.95 percent, by freezing personal expenditures at the level of 6 percents for state employees, employees executing work in public interest (inclusion to 10 percent decrease represents EUR 2.2 millions). Excluded from the decrease of personal expenditures were 5 073 members of the Correctional and Courtroom Security Corps.
SITA
