site.btaParliamentary Committee Adopts Constitutional Amendments on Second Reading

At its sitting on Saturday and Sunday, the National Assembly Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted on second reading the bill to amend and supplement the Constitution.

The texts are to be voted on second reading in Parliament at an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday,  December 19. In order for the changes to pass, a majority of 160 MP have to vote in favour of each text, while their final adoption require a third-reading vote in the plenary hall on a different date. 

On Saturday, the MPs adopted texts according to which a Bulgarian citizen by birth, over 40 years of age, who has no other citizenship, has not been placed under interdiction, is not serving a sentence and has lived in the country for the last five years, can be elected President.

The Committee decided that a Bulgarian citizen who has a dual citizenship can be elected as a member of Parliament if they have lived in the country for the last eighteen months. The voted proposal on dual citizenship was preceded by a debate in the hall, with the participation of experts in constitutional law, as well as MPs.

The MPs also agreed that a Prosecutor General would be appointed and dismissed by the President on the proposal of the Supreme Prosecutors Council, for a term of five years without a right to re-election. 

Prosecutor General candidates may be nominated by three of the members of the Supreme Prosecutors Council, as well as by the Minister of Justice. A presidential decree should be issued within seven days. In the case of failure to issue the decree in time, the proposed candidate is considered elected. The President cannot deny the appointment or release on a re-offer, the regulations state.

In the part related to the judicial reform, MPs agred that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) will consist of 15 members and includes the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, who are its members by right, eight members elected directly by the judges of all courts, and five members elected by the National Assembly.

The Supreme Prosecutors Council (SPC) will consist of 10 members and include the Prosecutor General, who is its member by right, two members elected directly by the prosecutors, one member elected directly by the investigators, and six members elected by the National Assembly. The requirements for members of the SJC and the SPC include that they be lawyers with high professional and moral qualities, who have at least 15 years of legal experience. The National Assembly will elect the members of the SJC and the SPC with a two-thirds majority. Their term of office will be four years and they cannot be re-elected immediately after that term expires. The SJC and SPC will exercise their powers independently and through a General Assembly. The meetings of the SJC and SPC General  Assembly will be chaired by the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation, and in his absence by the President of the Supreme Administrative Court,  the Committee also decided.

The MPs also decided that  he President of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the President of the Supreme Administrative Court will be appointed and dismissed  on the proposal of the SJC for a period of seven years without the right to re-election. 

Justice Minister Atanas Slavov commented that he hopes the division of the SJC into a SJC and a SPC will be accepted in the plenary hall. He said that in order to implement the changes in the Constitution, a completely new Judiciary Act is being prepared.

The MPs rejected the controversial idea of changing the date of the national holiday from March 3 to May 24. 

On Sunday, the MPs agreed that the President can appoint a caretaker prime minister from among the National Assembly Chair, the Supreme Court of Cassation President, the Governor or Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the Audit Chamber Chair or Deputy Chair and Ombudsman or their deputy. 

The MPs also voted that elections for a new National Assembly must be held no later than one month after the expiration of the term of the current National Assembly. With the taking of the oath of the newly elected national representatives, the powers of the previous National Assembly are terminated, the deputies also decided.

On Sunday, after discussions that lasted through the weekend, the bill to amend and supplement the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria was finally adopted by the Committee on Constitutional Affairs on second second reading. 

Constitutional Affairs Committee Chair Radoslav Cholakov explained that the proposed amendments were modified between the first and second reading votes, based on opinions expressed during the process of public coordination.

A parliamentary vote will probably take place on Tuesday, said Cholakov. The MPs adopted a six-month deadline for the National Assembly to adopt the laws related to the amendments to the Constitution and another three-month deadline after the entry into force of the legislative amendments in question for holding elections for members of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Supreme Prosecutors Council.

Cholakov added hopefully this reform will achieve quick results, namely a more independent court, a faster trial process and a greater sense of justice for Bulgarian citizens. "This is only the first step, now there will be amendments to the laws on the judiciary, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Civil Procedure Code, etc" he added.

After the vote, Justice Minister Atanas Slavov noted that it is most important that the Bulgarian society feels satisfied, that Bulgaria's partners and allies see that Bulgaria is achieving independent justice and accountability of the prosecution service.