New figures show that European countries spend only a pittance on their justice systems compared to their investment in the rest of the public sector.
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00:00How much does Europe spend on justice?
00:08New figures released by the Council of Europe show that across the continent,
00:11countries spend significantly less on their respective justice systems than other public
00:16sectors. Europe only spends about 0.31% of its GDP on justice, amounting to €85.40 per inhabitant
00:24on average. The Council of Europe found that wealthier countries like Switzerland,
00:27Monaco and Luxembourg generally allocate a higher budget to the justice system,
00:32sometimes exceeding €200 per inhabitant. Less wealthy countries such as Montenegro,
00:37Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the other hand, devote a higher percentage of
00:41their GDP to justice. The Council says this reflects a greater effort in relation to
00:45their economic resources. Most of the justice budget around Europe is spent on the courts,
00:50about two-thirds, with a quarter going to public prosecution and 11% on legal aid,
00:56while the amount spent on the former two has gone up. There's been a 16% decrease in legal
01:00aid spending since 2020, according to the Council of Europe. The conditions for obtaining it also
01:05vary. In some countries, specific categories of people, such as victims of domestic or sexual
01:10violence or asylum seekers, automatically benefit. In 2022, Europe had an average of 22 judges,
01:1612 public prosecutors and 180 lawyers per 100,000 inhabitants. However, there are huge disparities
01:23between countries due to differences in judicial systems and things like whether a country employs
01:28lay judges or not. There are more women judges and prosecutors than men across Europe, 57 and
01:3354% respectively. And the Council says that even though the glass ceiling is still very much a
01:39reality, the proportion of women in the highest positions continues to rise. In terms of access
01:44to justice, 44 Council of Europe countries offer free online access to legal texts and case law,
01:50but only three provide free access to the courts. For more, take a look at our website, euronews.com.