Austria no longer number one when it comes to trust in the judiciary
In an EU comparison, public trust in the independence of the judiciary has been overtaken by Finland and Denmark, but it is still high.
83 percent have a “very good” or “quite good” picture of the independence of the courts and judges in this country. The EU Commission checked this in the “Justice Barometer”, which was published on Thursday. However, Austria has lost the top spot. Finland with 89 percent and Denmark with 84 percent overtook us in the ranking.
The Eurobarometer surveys show nothing of a loss of trust in the Austrian judiciary, quite the opposite. In the past five years, the figure has climbed to over 80 percent.
The EU ranking of the Justice Barometer:
- Finland 89 percent
- Denmark 84 percent
- Austria 83 percent
- Luxembourg 78 percent
- Netherlands 77 percent
- Germany 76 percent
Croatia brings up the rear with 20 percent.
Concerns about political and economic influence are clouding the result
Less than ten percent of the distrust allegedly justified in Austria with the influence of politics and the economic pressure on the courts and judges. In Poland and Croatia, more than half shared this view.
Trust in the judiciary decreased in half of the EU
Trust in the judiciary has recently suffered in many EU countries. The independence of courts and judges, perceived by the public, has declined in 14 countries over the past year, according to the EU Justice Scoreboard published in Brussels on Thursday. According to the dpa, EU Commission Vice Vera Jourova was alarmed: “The fact that the perception of the independence of the judiciary has fallen in about half of all member states compared to the previous year is worrying and shows that we all have to act to maintain the trust of the Publicity in the justice system restored.”
In July, the EU Commission will present so-called rule of law reports on all countries. In it, she systematically analyzes the state of, for example, the separation of powers, media diversity and the independence of the judiciary in the EU countries. For the time being, the authority will also make recommendations on how the situation can be improved.
The survey was conducted between January 17th and 24th, 2022. 25,767 people were interviewed across the EU and 1,015 in Austria.