A presidential decree proposes cutting the number of the court's judges from the existing 35 to 33 as of Dec 15 and further to 32 as of June 1.
"It would be difficult to ensure public confidence in courts without ensuring its effective work. It means that the number of judges in courts should be optimal and match the workloads of those courts," Nauseda was quoted as saying in a statement.
The president believes funds saved from the reduction of the number of judges at the Supreme Court of Lithuania could be used to increase the number of judges at other courts facing greater workloads.
Figures provided by the Supreme Court of Lithuania show the number of complaints and requests received and accepted by the court went down by 23-40 percent in 2014-2018, and the number of heard cases dropped 25-40 percent.
According to the presidential office, following the reduction of the number of judges at the Supreme Court of Lithuania, their ratio to the population in Lithuania would become similar to the one existing in the majority of other EU member states.
The last time the number of Supreme Court judges was changed was in 2012 when it was cut from 37 to 35.