Austrian judges and prosecutors strike over staff shortages

Judges and prosecutors across Austria began a protest strike on Monday over staff shortages.

They are not handling non-urgent matters this week as they call on the state to fill vacant posts.

The national judges' association estimates that Austria is short of more than 250 judges, while prosecutors say they are short of about 70.

Courts are also dealing with growing numbers of cases, including complex cybercrime cases.

Prosecutors say complaints written with artificial intelligence can run to many pages and still need to be checked by hand.

The shortages contribute to delays and backlogs, while judges and prosecutors say they have been covering the gaps with unpaid work in evenings, on weekends and during holidays.

The justice ministry has expressed sympathy, but says the government's priority is reducing the budget deficit; the protest over non-urgent work is due to continue this week.