site.btaChamber of Investigators Argues in Favour of Going Ahead with Election of Prosecutor General

The Chamber of Investigators in Bulgaria Wednesday argued in favour of going forward with the procedure for election of a Prosecutor General, dismissing as illegitimate the calls to suspend the procedure because the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has overstayed its tenure.

The SJC is in charge of the procedure for the election of this country's top prosecutor. 

"The SJC's mandate has indeed expired but its powers have not been discontinued because a new election has not been held nor a procedure started for electing new SJC members by Parliament. The SJC is a standing body and cannot stop functioning, which means that it has to continue performing its powers, which include the election of a President of the Supreme Judicial Council and a Prosecutor General," the Investigators Chamber said in a position statement.

It argues that the SJC should fulfill its obligations "without succumbing to pressure and extra-judicial considerations".

The Chamber of Investigators urges "those who are trying to aggressively sell their view that this SJV is not legitimate to exercise its powers to elect a Supreme Administrative Court President and a Prosecutor General" to stop impeding the functioning of the SJC.

Also, they say that it is time Parliament fulfilled its obligations and elect new members to the bodies with expired term in office. Parliament's inaction is harmful for all, they said.

The Investigators Chamber further praise Borislav Sarafov, the acting Prosecutor General and only candidate for a full tenure as this country's top prosecutor. They point out that he is a career magistrate and was an excellent leader of the National Investigative Service for close to 6 years. "He is one of us, has proven to be a professional, has gone up the career ladder," the statement says.

In early October, Sarafov was nominated as Prosecutor General but the SJC. It drew clashing reactions: it was lambasted by Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria, the Anti-Corruption Fund, the Bar Association, the Judges' Association, the Bulgarian Socialist Party, Vazrazhdane party and one of two warring factions of the Movement for Rights and Freedoms. GERB's position is that this SJC remains fully functional and capable of making decisions despite its parliamentary quota members having expired terms. The SJC itself, too, has dismissed the calls for suspending the procedure over its expired term.