site.btaVenice Commission Adopts Opinion on Amendments to Bulgaria’s Constitution

Justice Minister Atanas Slavov and Deputy Minister Emil Dechev took part in the 136th session of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe which discussed and adopted an opinion on the proposed amendments to Bulgaria’s Constitution, the Justice Ministry said on its Facebook page. 

Minister Slavov approached the Commission for an urgent opinion in early August.

Slavov defended the main goals of the bill to ensure independent justice and an accountable prosecution service and highlighted the proposed amendments. Among them key is the separation of the Supreme Judicial Council into two bodies, for judges and prosecutors, and a new ratio between professional and parliamentary quotas on the Supreme Judicial Council.  The Venice Commission approved of the separation, which has long been among its recommendations. The Commission assessed positively the changed quotas and endorsed in principle the proposals for a prosecutors council. 

The Commission criticized certain proposals and issued recommendations. 

Slavov said that he will insist that the opinion of the Venice Commission should be taken into consideration when the bill is resubmitted in two months’ time. 

On Friday the bill failed to collect three quarters of the votes on first reading and did not go through Parliament.