Trial for 13 thousand hryvnias: Kyiv court is critically short of staff

Staff shortage and underfunding are already affecting the timing of case consideration

The Desnianskyi District Court of Kyiv continues to operate under martial law, air raid warnings, and power outages. At the same time, the court openly states that the system is under serious pressure due to chronic underfunding and an acute staff shortage.

Today, more than 20 positions of staff remain vacant in the court, which significantly complicates the organization of work and directly affects citizens’ access to justice.

Salary that scares off candidates

One of the main reasons for the staffing crisis is the low level of wages. The average salary of court staff is about 13 thousand hryvnias – an indicator that cannot compete with either the private sector or other state institutions.

At the same time, working in the court requires:

higher legal education;

passing special tests;

adherence to high standards of integrity and ethics;
performance of a significant amount of procedural duties.

As noted in the court, many candidates refuse employment precisely after familiarizing themselves with the salary level.

Consequences for justice

Due to the shortage of personnel, the workload on the remaining employees has increased significantly. This has already had concrete consequences:

the terms of considering cases are increasing;

the preparation of full texts of court decisions is delayed;

the issuance of executive documents is becoming more difficult.

Additional difficulties are created by power outages, which affect the timely registration of documents and procedural appeals.

The problem is systemic

The court emphasizes that the situation is not unique. Similar difficulties are typical for most courts of first instance throughout Ukraine.

The organizational and financial support of the courts is entrusted to the State Judicial Administration within the budget, which is formed with the participation of the Ministry of Finance and approved by the parliament. However, according to court representatives, the current level of funding does not allow for proper working conditions.

Repeated appeals to resolve the problem remain without proper response.

Appeal to the state

The court staff warns: ignoring the personnel and financial crisis may lead to even greater complications for citizens’ access to justice.

At the same time, the court assures that, despite all the difficulties, all documents are registered in the established order, transferred for automated distribution among judges, and no appeal is left without consideration.