site.btaJudges Oppose Current Supreme Judicial Council Electing Prosecutor General

The Bulgarian Judges Association (BJA) is of the opinion that the current composition of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) should not elect the new head of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) and the new prosecutor general, the professional organization stated in a position. 

The BJA's issued their statement after Acting Prosecutor Borislav Sarafov was nominated as the sole candidate for prosecutor general by the Prosecution College of the SJC and the scheduled discussion by the SJC Plenum for opening a procedure for the election of a Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) president.
The BJA considers that the expired mandate of the current SJC requires its members to refrain from taking decisions that are constitutionally bound by the established mandates of the relevant bodies.

The different duration of the mandates of the SJC and of the presidents of the supreme courts and the prosecutor general, established in the Constitution, determines the inadmissibility of situations in which the same composition of the SJC elects more than once successive presidents of the SAC and the next prosecutor general, the position reads.

The organization further explained that the deadlines established in the Judiciary Act for opening the relevant procedures are in contradiction with the practice of this SJC. The Judiciary Act also establishes deadlines for the rhythmic and temporary holding of competitions for the appointment and promotion of judges, prosecutors and investigators, which have been systematically disregarded by this composition of the SJC.

The current SJC composition of the Council should not elect the next SAC president and prosecutor general also due to the proven practice of the majority of its members of not complying with their assigned function of checking whether the relevant candidates meet the requirements for occupying the highest professional positions in the judiciary, the judges' organization wrote.