site.btaJudges' Association Warns Judicial Reform May Be Feigned

Judges' Association Warns Judicial Reform May Be Feigned

Sofia, July 22 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Judges' Association (BJA)
said in an open letter on Wednesday that they are concerned
about what they see as outright political bargaining which can
lead stakeholders to feign a judicial reform and supplant the
true meaning of the changes. The letter was prompted by a bill
to amend the Constitution in the part concerning the judicial
system. It was addressed to the National Assembly, Prime
Minister Boyko Borissov and Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov.

BJA noted that while all political forces have declared that the
 judicial reform is necessary, some of them behave in a way that
 runs counter to their declarations.

The proposed amendments were put to a broad discussion in the
courts, and the discussion demonstrated a clear consensus on
three major issues which are at the heart of the planned
changes: dividing the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) into a
college of judges and a college of prosecutors, cutting short
SJC's tenure, and abolishing the requirement for secret voting
at SJC, the letter said.

"The amendments are fully supported by the court community," it
said.

To split SJC into two colleges makes sense only if the colleges
have the power to decide personnel matters, rather than giving
that power to the SJC Plenum, which has been suggested by some
parliamentary groups as a condition for their support for the
amendments. Accepting such suggestions would be tantamount to
refusing to make any change at all, BJA said.