site.btaChamber of Investigators: SJC Should Hold Elections for Prosecutor General, President of SAC

As a constitutionally established body, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) has all its powers until the election of a new composition and should therefore hold elections for a Prosecutor General and for a President of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC). These are its constitutional duties. This is what BTA learned from the Chair of the Chamber of Investigators in Bulgaria, Preslava Petkova.

The mandate of a body is established in a normative act, in the case with the SJC - in the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria and in the Judiciary Act. There is no legal prohibition for the same composition of the SJC to elect holders of the same position at the top of the judiciary. According to the case law of the Constitutional Court, in particular Decision No 12/2022, the constitutional powers of state bodies cannot be taken away by the inaction of another body responsible for their constitution, Petkova said. According to her, the National Assembly is no exception.

The inaction of the National Assembly and the failure to fulfil the duties attributed to MPs both by the Constitution and the Judiciary Act cannot lead to obstruction of the work of the SJC. The continuity of its activities must be ensured. It is a matter of political will to elect a new composition, Petkova explained.

According to her, the current composition of the SJC is legitimate, elected in accordance with the established legal procedure and should function until the election of the next SJC.