CaseC-372/24, Ministarstvo pravosuđa (Remuneration of Croatian judges of first instance): Order of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 12 December 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Upravni sud u Rijeci – Croatia) – B. B. v Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije Republike Hrvatske (Reference for a preliminary ruling – Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice – Questions the answer to which may be clearly deduced from the Court’s existing case-law – Remuneration of judges of first instance – Article 19(1), second subparagraph, TEU – Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union – Principle of judicial independence – Powers of the legislatures and executives of the Member States to set the detailed rules for determining judges’ remuneration – Requirement that remuneration is commensurate with the importance of the functions carried out – Obligation to take into account the national socio-economic context)
Date: 2025-12-12
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: case-law (EU), independence of the judiciary, judge, remuneration of work, right to an effective remedy, socioeconomic conditions, wage determination








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Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/616


9.2.2026






Order of the Court (Seventh Chamber) of 12 December 2025 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Upravni sud u Rijeci – Croatia) – B. B. v Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije Republike Hrvatske


(CaseC-372/24,
                (1)
Ministarstvo pravosuđa (Remuneration of Croatian judges of first instance))

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Article 99 of the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice - Questions the answer to which may be clearly deduced from the Court’s existing case-law - Remuneration of judges of first instance - Article 19(1), second subparagraph, TEU - Article 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union - Principle of judicial independence - Powers of the legislatures and executives of the Member States to set the detailed rules for determining judges’ remuneration - Requirement that remuneration is commensurate with the importance of the functions carried out - Obligation to take into account the national socio-economic context)
(C/2026/616)
Language of the case: Croatian

Referring court

Upravni sud u Rijeci

Parties to the main proceedings


Applicant: B. B.

Defendant: Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije Republike Hrvatske

Operative part of the order

The second subparagraph of Article 19(1) TEU, read in conjunction with Article 2 TEU,
must be interpreted as meaning that the principle of judicial independence does not preclude the legislation of a Member State under which the remuneration of judges is determined, by the legislative and the executive powers of that Member State, by multiplying the base rate for the remuneration of judges and other members of the judiciary by a coefficient corresponding to the category of the judge concerned, provided that that determination is not arbitrary, but is based on objective, foreseeable, stable and transparent criteria and ensures that judges receive remuneration commensurate with the importance of the duties they perform, taking into account the economic, social and financial situation of that Member State and the average salary in that Member State.


(1)  Date lodged: 24/5/2024.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/616/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)