site.btaVenice Commission Welcomes Adoption of Code of Ethics for Bulgarian Magistrates

The Venice Commission of the Council of Europe presented on Thursday a positive assessment of the codes of ethical conduct for Bulgarian judges adopted by the Supreme Judicial Council. The opinion notes that the assessments were carried out at the request of the Ministry of Justice.

The Venice Commission describes the adoption of the rules as commendable and notes that it was carried out in line with its earlier recommendations. The Commission appreciates that the codes are well conceived and coherent.

A recommendation has been made that the Judicial System Act should contain texts on the ethical conduct of judges, and that the provisions of the code of ethics should not be invoked for disciplinary proceedings, as such codes contain broad provisions unsuitable for direct application. The document points out that such legal changes have not yet been approved, and that the code should be a supplement to them. The Venice Commission recommends that the law should specify the grounds for disciplinary liability of judges so that there is clarity and predictability.

An assessment of the code of ethical conduct for Bulgarian prosecutors and investigators is also presented, again welcoming the adoption of the new rules and their compliance with earlier recommendations. Recommendations are made to ensure that the code takes into account the different procedural roles of prosecutors and investigators and to ensure fair representation of elected prosecutors in the Supreme Prosecutorial Council to prevent control of this institution by the political majority of the day. According to the Venice Commission, this could be achieved with further changes to the Constitution.

Another recommendation is to provide rules for the conduct of prosecutors and investigators when they receive instructions from their superiors that they find wrong or illegal. Eliminating loyalty as a separate principle is recommended, or substantially reformulating it to emphasize institutional loyalty over personal relationships and making sure that loyalty does not encourage favoritism.