The team of caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov has presented revisions to the Judicial System Act, aimed at strengthening the procedures governing the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the SJC Inspectorate. According to the ministry, the draft legislation is slated for review by the next government to be elected by Parliament. The proposed revisions introduce several layers of oversight for candidates.
First, a specialized commission of professionals, independent of political forces, will conduct a thorough assessment of candidates, providing an objective evaluation of their integrity, strengths, and weaknesses. This commission is mandated to be composed of institutions outside direct parliamentary control, including the general assemblies of the Supreme Courts, the President, the National Ombudsman, and the Supreme Bar Council. They will prepare detailed candidate profiles for the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee and make them public.
Furthermore, the bill establishes a second provisional commission dedicated to verifying the asset declarations of all candidates. This body will incorporate financial experts from organizations such as the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Chamber of Independent Appraisers of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian National Bank. These verifications will confirm the accuracy of declarations and investigate any transactions flagged for suspicious pricing or unclear funding sources.
The procedural safeguards also extend to the judicial quota, with the SJC Inspectorate verifying these assets. The Justice Minister will gain the authority to challenge any instruments adopted by the SJC in court, addressing a current limitation where judicial review is restricted to directly affected individuals, making oversight challenging in single-candidate elections. These changes significantly overhaul the framework surrounding the SJC election process.
Topics: #ministry #judicial #election
