The Supreme Council of Magistrates (CSM) reported on July 24, citing a European survey conducted for the year 2025, that in Romania, trust in the judiciary continues to keep within the EU average.

According to a CSM release, the companies' perception regarding the independence of the judiciary is positive at a rate of 51%, similar to that of 2024 (52%), placing Romania next to France (53%) and ahead of countries like Greece (49%), Italy (48%), Spain (40%), Hungary (38%), Portugal (32%), Bulgaria (27%).

Regarding the companies' trust in the courts' ability to guarantee investment security, the Supreme Council of Magistrates says that this 'extremely important' indicator for Romania's process to join the OECD is positive at 58%, placing the country in a group of seven states where this indicator is hovering around 60%, namely France (62%), the Czech Republic (61%), Belgium (60%), Lithuania (59%), Germany (58%), Italy (58%), and ahead of states such as Portugal (44%), Poland (39%) or Greece (28%).

Regarding the citizens' perception, this indicator is at 44%, keeping Romania in the average band of EU countries, immediately after France (51%) and Italy (46%) and ahead of states such as Spain (39%), Greece (38%), Croatia (27%) or Bulgaria (27%).

'From this point of view, one must take into account the backdrop of extreme polarization of the Romanian society during the presidential campaign following the cancellation and rerun of the vote and as a result of the Constitutional Court and the standard justice system being constantly and successively blamed for how the respective election was conducted,' the CSM reports.

As far as European assessments regarding the position of the judiciary at national level in 2025 are concerned, the CSM shows that among other institutions, trust in the justice system is 31% in Parliament, 34% in the government and 26% in mass media.

Nationwide, as per the most recent survey available on trust in institutions (CURS), the judiciary enjoys a trust rate of 38% and is ranked after the Army/Fire Service (81%), the Church (74%), the Police (59%), the Presidency (48%), but before the press (36%), the government (33%), the intelligence services (29%) and the Parliament (26%), according to the cited source.

From the perspective of statistical indicators reflecting a high level of trust, it is noteworthy that citizens turn to courts in greater numbers than in previous years, with approximately three million cases registered annually, which represents an increase of approximately 40% compared to 2020.

Even at this rate, the challenge rate (by appeal or second appeal) of court rulings handed down in the first instance has dropped to a historical minimum of 9% compared to 16.5% in 2021, which demonstrates a higher acceptance by the parties of the solutions ordered by the courts, the CSM said.

'Despite constant statements to the contrary in the public sphere, objective assessments found that trust in the judiciary remains in the middle band of the European Union reference system,' the CSM underscored. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Florea; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)