site.btaSupreme Judicial Council to Exercise Powers through Plenum and Judges and Prosecutors Colleges

Supreme Judicial Council to Exercise Powers through Plenum and Judges and Prosecutors Colleges

Sofia, March 31 (BTA) - Amending the Judicial System Act on second reading on Thursday, Parliament decided that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) will exercise its powers through a plenum, a college of judges and a college of prosecutors.

The changes are consistent with judiciary-related amendments to the Constitution adopted late last year.

The plenum will comprise all of the SJC members.

The judges college will have 14 members: the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, six magistrates directly elected by the judges, and six magistrates elected by Parliament.

The prosecutors college will have 11 members: the Prosecutor General, four members directly elected by the prosecutors, one directly elected by the investigators, and five elected by Parliament.

The National Assembly will elect each SJC member of its quota by a qualified majority of two-thirds of the MPs. The SJC members of the magistrates quota will be elected directly by secret ballot, respectively by the judges, prosecutors and investigators.

The MPs approved an increase in the salary of the SJC members, which is now equal to that of a judge of the Supreme Court of Cassation. After the change, the SJC members will earn as much as the Presidents of the two Supreme Courts, the Prosecutor General, and the director of the National Investigation Service. Their salaries are 90 per cent of the salary of the Constitutional Court President. The SJC members will not be paid for their work in the Council's commissions.

The increase by about 800 leva brings the monthly salary of SJC members to about 6,900 leva, according to legalworld.bg.

This proposal by an MP of the Patriotic Front was backed by GERB and the Patriotic Front, while the Reformist Bloc strongly opposed it. Danail Kirilov (GERB) said the pay rise had been budgeted for and would not require extra funding. He asked: "How can we expect the SJC members to be independent if they earn less than their colleagues?"

Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva told journalists that she did not think it normal for SJC members to earn more than the judges, prosecutors and investigators at the Supreme Courts.