FORMATION OF INSTITUTIONAL APPROACHES TO JUDICIAL BUDGETING

<jats:p>The effective functioning of the judicial system is one of the foundations of the rule of law, the protection of property rights and public trust in the state, and it directly affects the investment climate and the conditions for economic activity. At the same time, the financial support of courts traditionally remains on the periphery of both academic and managerial discourse, being perceived as a narrow, technical sphere of financial administration rather than as a subject of economic research. This perception, combined with a predominantly cost-based logic of budgeting, makes the problem of forming institutional approaches to judicial budgeting particularly relevant, especially in the context of the systemic transformation of public finances in Ukraine, unprecedented security challenges caused by armed aggression, and the country's European integration commitments. The article addresses the question of how the role of the judicial budget should be reconceived: from a passive expenditure item aimed at maintaining the current operation of courts to a strategic instrument that safeguards judicial independence and contributes to macroeconomic stability. It discusses the extent to which the dominance of a purely cost-oriented model, the chronic underfunding of the judiciary and the marginal share of development and digitalisation expenditures constrain institutional change and undermine the analytical and managerial value of the budget process. Particular attention is devoted to global trends in reforming judicial budgeting: the expansion of the judiciary's autonomy in preparing and managing its budget, the assignment of responsibility for budget execution at the level of an individual court, and the transition from historical, input-oriented budgeting to performance-based approaches. The article also raises the question of how such approaches can be adapted to national conditions, what risks accompany the use of performance indicators, and what institutional prerequisites are required for a differentiated model of judicial budgeting that combines the predictability and protection of core expenditures with the flexibility of financing development and digital transformation.</jats:p>