Judiciary budget too dependent on politics, says judiciary boss

Finance for the judiciary is currently too much of a political choice and that has to change, Frits Bakker, president of the Council for the Judiciary, writes in the council's annual report. "The budget for the Judiciary should not be dependent on the budget of the Minister of Security and Justice", ANP reports. According to Bakker, placing the Judiciary's budget under the Ministry of Security and Justice caused a situation where the judiciary has to compete with the ministry's other policy objective for its funding. That means that cuts in the Ministry's budget also affects the judiciary's budget. "For financing the judiciary, only the question of what is needed to handle court cases well and on time should play a role", Bakker writes. "The legislative and executive branches can now influence the law via the wallet. that does not belong in a constitutional state, where state powers must be independent of each other." Bakker is calling for an independent budget for the judiciary, such as the Eerste and Tweede Kamer (Dutch Senate and lower house of parliament) and the Council of State have. "Justice is a core task of the state", Bakker writes, adding that it can not be "used to absorb setbacks elsewhere."