Justice Ministry to reduce number of judges

The Czech Justice Ministry wants to reduce the number of judges by about two hundred, according to the CTK news agency. The ministry said it had considerably softened recommendations made by a company that recently conducted an audit at Czech courts and suggested lowering the number of judges by five to six hundred. Since judges are irrevocable under Czech law, the ministry plans to limit or halt the appointment of new judges and wait for elderly judges to retire. The Czech Republic, a country of over 10 million inhabitants, currently has some 3,000 judges.