site.btaBar Associations Urge Parliament to Revoke Resolutions on Election of Constitutional Judges

Bar associations Tuesday issued a joint position on the procedure of the election of Constitutional Court judges on Parliament's quota. The lawyers urged the MPs to revoke their resolutions of January 19 on the election of Desislava Atanasova and Borislav Belazelkov as Constitutional Court judges.

Fourteen out of this country's 27 bar associations have signed the position.

"We call on the National Assembly Chairman, the Bulgarian President and the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, within their powers, to state a clear and categorical position on the election, which, if implemented, would irreparably vitiate the work of the Constitutional Court as  the ultimate guarantor of the rule of law," the position said.

The bar associations argued that the election procedure had generated a major controversy in recent weeks, both in the legal circles in Bulgaria and outside them. The selection of the candidates and the procedure, as well as the purely pro forma compliance with the legal requirements for holders of the position, have raised important questions, the associations said.

The nominations for members of the Constitutional Court were submitted on the last day of the deadline, without prior public consultation, without an expert debate, openness and transparency, and without justification for their selection, the lawyers said. Quoting an article of the Constitution, the bar associations claimed that during the procedure, there had been a violation of the fundamental "principles of openness, transparency, publicity and justification, which the Constitution requires the National Assembly to observe upon the election of members of bodies whereof all or part are elected thereby, in order to guarantee the independence of the said bodies".

The lawyers said the candidates answered only questions asked in advance and those present at the hearing could not put questions, which raises reasonable doubts about the candidates' qualities and preparedness.

The scheduling of the final vote in plenary less than 24 hours after the hearing of the candidates again demonstrated a purely pro forma approach to the procedure, the bar associations said.

They also objected to the candidates' election for nine-year terms.

At a time when the institutions in Bulgaria suffer from a serious chronic lack of public confidence, eroding the confidence in the Constitutional Court could have unpredictable consequences and lead to a destruction of the social contract, the bar associations said.