site.btaNGO Disapproves of Tabled Changes to Constitution

The Justice for All Initiative disapproves of the project for changes to the Constitution, tabled by GERB-UDF, Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB)and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF). This transpired at a BTA-hosted news conference on Tuesday.

The NGO said that they participated in a project for drafting changes to the Judicial System Act together with CC-DB but they were different from what the coalition presented and even more different from the bill sponsored by the three parliamentary groups. According to Justice for All, the changes with regards to the prosecutor general do not curb his powers. The NGO criticized the changes related to the terms of the heads of the supreme courts and the prosecutor general.

Justice for All CEO Velislav Velichkov urged the chairman of the parliamentary legal affairs committee to hold a public debate on the proposed changed and warned against eliminating it.

“We’ll go against everybody who tries to replace the judicial reform with an imitation meant to keep the status quo. We don’t care if this is Delyan Peevski, Dessislava Atanassova, Hristo Ivanov or Kiril Petkov. We will categorically opposed because for eight years we have not been fighting to get a second historical compromise or another imitation. We welcome the good provisions, especially in relation to the Supreme Judicial Council and we will support them,” added Velichkov.

Justice for All said that they insist on the amendment to Article 120 of the Constitution according to which the legislation should not restrict challenging administrative acts which infringe on the rights and freedoms of the citizens, set forth in the Constitution, EU legislation and international agreements to which Bulgaria is a party. The NGO threatened protests if the provision is not adopted.

In relation to Monday’s protests across the country in support of an 18-year old disfigured girl and against the violence against women, Peter Kanchev said that the people in the streets and on social media, have realized that the judicial reform is something extremely important. 

“Yesterday we witnessed a real protest against the system. If the young people think that justice is not functioning, then much more comprehensive changes than those drafted are called for. Politicians should restore the trust in justice, because without justice there is no state,” said Velichkov.