site.btaJustice Ministry: New Judicial System Bill to Be Drawn Up by March

A new Judicial System Bill which reflects recent amendments to the Constitution will be drafted by early March, the Justice Ministry said. Discussions started early this week and the experts are expected to hold regular meetings.

One of the first tasks of a working group of experts headed by Deputy Justice Minister Yuliya Kovacheva is to determine the powers of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the Supreme Prosecutorial Council and the functions of the General Assembly of the two Councils in connection with the amendments to the Constitution. The working group consists of magistrates from the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Court of Cassation, SJC members, representatives of the Supreme Bar Council, of sectoral and non-governmental organizations, of the National Institute of Justice and Justice Ministry experts.

A bill to amend the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code in line with recommendations contained in the Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation Report on Bulgaria prepared by the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism (MONEYVAL) is about to be finalized. The experts have suggested including a chapter on terrorism in the Penal Code and introducing the concept of virtual assets in the Penal Code and methods for their seizure in the Criminal Procedure Code. On these matters, the working group is led by Deputy Justice Minister Emil Dechev.

On December 20, 2023, Bulgaria's Parliament voted, 165-71 with one abstention, to pass conclusively a bill to amend and supplement the country's Constitution, moved by GERB-UDF, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) on July 28.