The caretaker Justice Minister of Bulgaria, Andrey Yankulov, announced that his team has drafted revisions to the Judicial System Act aimed at enhancing the procedures governing the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the SJC Inspectorate. According to a press release on Friday, the proposed legislation is slated for review by the next government elected by Parliament. The revisions introduce several layers of oversight for the upcoming SJC election process.
A key provision mandates the formation of a special commission composed of professionals, independent of political parties, to conduct an objective assessment of candidates’ integrity, strengths, and weaknesses. This commission must be drawn from non-Parliamentary institutions, including the general assemblies of the Supreme Courts, the President, the National Ombudsman, and the Supreme Bar Council. These bodies will prepare candidate profiles for the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee and make them publicly available.
Furthermore, the bill proposes a provisional commission dedicated to verifying the asset declarations of all candidates. This commission will comprise experts from financial analysis fields, such as the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Chamber of Independent Appraisers of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian National Bank. The purpose is to verify the truthfulness of declarations and identify any transactions conducted at suspiciously low prices or with unclear funding origins.
Crucially, the proposed changes also strengthen the judicial review process. The Justice Minister will be granted the authority to contest any instrument adopted by the SJC in court. This measure addresses a current gap where the existing law restricts the right of appeal only to directly affected individuals, a limitation that severely restricts judicial oversight, particularly
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