site.btaParliament Approves Amendments to Judicial System Act on First Reading

Parliament Approves Amendments to Judicial System Act on First Reading

Sofia, March 16 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Parliament Wednesday approved amendments to the Judicial System Act in connection with the ongoing judicial reform.

The vote was 118 in favour (GERB, Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Reformist Bloc, Patriotic Front, Bulgarian Democratic Centre and ABV), 19 against (BSP-Left Bulgaria), and 1 abstention (one Reformist Bloc MP).

Under the revisions, the personnel decisions at the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) judges college and prosecutors college will require a qualified majority and will be adopted by open ballot without the option to abstain. Standing committees on appraisal and competitions, involving, among others, magistrates in active service, will be set up with each of the two SJC colleges.

Under the bill, the National Assembly will elect the SJC members 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.

The SJC is restructured and reorganized so as to strengthen the independence of the judiciary, barring the SJC members who represent prosecutors and investigating magistrates from addressing personnel and disciplinary issues affecting judges and vice versa.

Within three months from the entry into force of the law, the immovable properties and movable things owned by the judiciary, which are administrated by the Ministry of Justice, will be transferred to the SJC.

Plenary Debate

Mihail Mikov (BSP-Left Bulgaria): The bill allows the magistrates' general meeting, which elects directly the SJC members, to be held on relaxed quorum requirements. It turns out that while judges in Bulgaria approximate 2,300, the SJC members may be elected by 30 who remain for the vote. After that bill, the judicial reform itself will have to be reformed.

Danail Kirilov (GERB): Why the National Assembly should be able to pass laws by 61 votes (a quarter of the quorum) and the judiciary should not? The SJC members will not be elected by 30 magistrates but by a quarter of the total, say, a quarter of 2,300, the way the Oresharski Cabinet was elected.

Atanas Atanassov (Reformist Bloc): Parliament will have to vote in office the SJC parliamentary quota by a two-thirds majority, while the magistrates community will elect whoever they wish without meeting quorum requirements. This is discriminatory and absurd and should be addressed before the bill comes up for a second reading. I will not support the bill which will legitimize the screwing up of the judicial reform.

Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva: Magistrates and citizens should not be misled. The idea is, basically, to enlist as many as possible magistrates in the direct election. To be valid, more than half of all magistrates eligible to vote must take part in this election. The relaxed quorum requirements apply only to the election of the committees and the hearing of candidates. Candidates' hearing can be streamed online. The ultimate target should be distance online voting with guaranteed secrecy of the ballot. Another highlight of the bill is including magistrates of high moral integrity in the committees on performance appraisal and competitions. The qualified majority, by which all decisions will be voted in both colleges, is a guarantee on which the Venice Commission insisted, just as that the parliamentary quota will not be able to adopt personnel decisions on its own.

Filip Popov (BSP-Left Bulgaria): The idea of excluding abstention from the voting options is obviously to make it easier to control the SJC members.

Dimiter Delchev (Reformist Bloc): The secret ballot at the SJC disguises non-transparency rather than independence. The Reformist bloc will back the changes because they introduce an open ballot at the SJC and direct election of its members by judges and prosecutors.

ABV, the Bulgarian Democratic Centre and the Patriotic Front said they are in favour of the amendments because they ensue directly from the latest revisions of the Constitution adopted in connection with the judicial reform.