site.btaConstitutional Court Admits on Merits Three Cases Challenging Constitutional Revisions

The Constitutional Court admitted on the merits several cases challenging last year's amendments to the Constitution, the Court said on its website Thursday. Part of the cases concern the constitutionality of the newly introduced list of persons eligible for caretaker prime minister and candidates for MPs being allowed to have dual citizenship.

The first case accepted on the merits was referred to the Constitutional Court by 55 members of the 51sts National Assembly. They question the constitutionality of the rules of electing a caretaker prime minister and MPs being allowed to have double citizenship. The second case was referred to the Constitutional Court by 53 MPs questioning the same provisions. The third case was referred by President Rumen Radev and concerns the same provisions as well as the text about Parliament continuing to work while a caretaker government is in power.

All cases were admitted on the merits by eight judges, with three dissenting opinions by judges Borislav Belazelkov, Dessislava Atanassova, and Galina Toneva. 

The three cases are now merged into one.

The same revisions to the Constitution were challenged earlier this year. In July, the Constitutional Court failed to reach the required majority to adopt a decision on their constitutionality. Six judges considered the amendments unconstitutional: Yanaki Stoilov, Pavlina Panova, Mariyana Karagyozova-Finkova, Tanya Raykovska, Atanas Semov, and Sonya Yankoulova. The three judges who Thursday signed with a dissenting opinion, were among those who in July found the revisions in compliance with the Constitution.

Two of the judges who found the revisions unconstitutional  - Karagyozova-Finkova and Raykovska - are no longer on the Court as their term in office expired and new judges took the oath in November.

The Constitutional Court is missing one of its eleven judges as Parliament is yet to elect one on its quota.