Small courts in crisis due to prolonged staff shortages

Small courts are in crisis due to staff shortages, not so much because of the number of vacancies as because of their duration. The CSM, in a resolution approved by the last plenary session before the summer recess, takes stock of the shortage of judges in the courts. In particular, the resolution analyses staff turnover and the duration of vacancies in first-instance courts over the five-year period 2020–2024, with particular attention to the impact of staff turnover on the organisation of judicial offices. The study is significant, the CSM emphasises, because staff mobility affects organisational efficiency, the (re)allocation of cases, the scheduling of hearings, and the integration of newly appointed magistrates.

The flows were analysed in terms of staffing levels of the offices and the duration of staff shortages. Where small courts comprise those with a staff of up to 20 (distinguished between courts with up to 12 judges and those with 13 to 20 judges); medium-sized courts, with a staff of between 21 and 40 judges; and large courts, or those with more than 40 staff members.

In summary, it has emerged that the percentage of staff shortages increases in line with the size of the office: around 10 per cent in small courts, 13 per cent in medium-sized ones and 13–14 per cent in large ones, whilst the duration of holidays is inversely proportional, with even very long periods possible in smaller offices. Consequently, the key issue that has emerged concerns precisely the persistence of staff shortages in small offices, a problem exacerbated by the fact that, precisely because of their size, even a single holiday has a significant impact on the organisation.

In particular, in smaller courts, the backlog lasts on average 175 days (for courts with up to 12 judges) and 133 days (for courts with 13–20 judges). Converting the data into terms of the monthly duration of the shortfall, the average stands at 5.8 months for courts with up to 12 staff and 4.4 months for courts with between 13 and 20 staff. The longer the duration of the holiday, the more difficult it is, therefore, to cover the workload.

In medium-sized courts, the duration falls to 105 days (around 3.5 months). In large courts, the average vacancy period is 72 days for those with 41–60 judges and just 34 days – equivalent to just over a month – for courts with more than 60 judges on the staff. The difference in the duration of a staffing shortfall between small and large courts exceeds 140 days: this means, as the resolution points out, that, on average, a vacancy that is filled in just over a month in a larger court takes almost five times as long to be filled in a small court.