site.btaYes Bulgaria’s Hristo Ivanov: Judicial Reform Went to the Trash Bin

The judicial reform went to the trash bin, the trash bin is called Nikola Filchev, said in response to a question the resigned chairman of "Yes Bulgaria" Hristo Ivanov on bTV about the decision of the Constitutional Court, which on Friday invalidated some of the amendments to the Constitution adopted by the National Assembly at the end of last year.

Ivanov pointed out that "Filchev" [Nikola Filchev, Prosecutor General 1999-2006] is the current model, as under Filchev it became clear what complete madness it is to concentrate so much power in one person at the top of a repressive institution, such as the prosecutor's office, while having no possibility of control over this figure. In fact, the Court’s message was that Bulgaria is a prosecutorial republic, he said.

The constitutional judges find it so important to preserve the Filchev model that they put at risk Bulgaria's integration into Schengen because a key argument for Bulgaria to be allowed into the Schengen area was precisely this constitutional change, Ivanov said. He added this also puts at risk EU funding, but this does not matter to those judges because the power obtained is huge.

"All the changes that were aimed at bringing the Bulgarian court structurally in line with the European standards of independence have been cancelled in order to preserve the prosecutor general's uncontrollability and omnipotence. The centralized and uncontrolled prosecution service had to be preserved at the cost of everything. This was done by referring to an extremely controversial decision of the Constitutional Court from 2003, which was triggered by Filchev, i.e. it was ruled at his request, but everyone knows that he actually wrote it", Hristo Ivanov commented.

He drew attention to the fact that the same judges say that the powers of the Prosecutor General cannot be taken away, but the President’s can.  

On Friday another decision of the Constitutional Court came out, which removed the obstacles to the election of a new prosecutor general, Hristo Ivanov said. This decision, which cancelled the judicial reform, is the first step of a plan for the current Supreme Judicial Council, far beyond its mandate, totally discredited, to start the procedures for the election of a new prosecutor general and a new president of the Supreme Administrative Court, he said. "A 'passing of the baton' operation is underway so that Delyan Peevski's influence in the judiciary is preserved," Ivanov said. 

In his view, the Court's reversal of the constitutional reform "cements" the pattern of systemic corruption at the highest levels of power and this deepens the political crisis.