site.bta Spanish Justice Minister: Spain, Bulgaria Have Open Line for Cooperation in Judicial Reform

Spanish Justice Minister: Spain, Bulgaria Have Open Line for Cooperation in Judicial Reform

Sofia, April 22 (BTA) - Spanish Justice Minister Rafael Catala said here Thursday that his country is ready to assist Bulgaria in the sphere of judicial reform. He told Bulgarian journalists that during his meeting with Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva they talked about the implementation of the projects for bilateral cooperation in the sphere of justice, which helped Bulgaria achieve progress in the reforms undertaken, particularly in the Chief Prosecution Office.

Catala was in Sofia to attend a Council of Europe conference of justice ministers, entitled "Strengthening Judicial Independence and Impartiality as a Pre-condition for the Rule of Law in Council of Europe Member States".

In Catala's words, Spain and Bulgaria have an open line for cooperation. At the meeting with Zaharieva, he expressed Spain's readiness to assist in each project Bulgaria deems beneficial to the training and qualification of judges and prosecutors.

He also said Spain is ready to share its experience in the fight against corruption and will be happy if this cooperation is beneficial to Bulgaria.
 
Catala recalled that the justice reforms introduced by his country in 2013 and 2015 have helped strengthen the Judiciary's capabilities to function and judges' independence. In Spain the matters of judicial reform are openly discussed between the political parties, as well as with the entire legal community, so that the best mechanisms for guaranteeing judges' and magistrates' independence and impartiality can be found, he said.
 
The Spanish Justice Minister also said that during his visit to Bucharest on Wednesday, he discussed with Romania's Foreign Minister and Justice Minister the joint Romanian-Spanish initiative for the establishment of an international tribunal against terrorism, which was presented to the UN General Assembly in 2015. The creation of such an international judicial mechanism for fighting terrorism will take time because it requires big political support and consensus, Catala said.