The caretaker Justice Minister of Bulgaria, Andrey Yankulov, announced that his team has drafted revisions to the Judicial System Act aimed at improving the procedures surrounding the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the SJC Inspectorate. According to a press release issued Friday, the proposed legislation is slated for review by the next government to be elected by Parliament. The revisions introduce several structural enhancements.
First, the draft mandates the formation of a specialized commission, composed of professionals independent of political parties. This body will conduct a professional assessment of candidates, providing objective evaluations of their integrity, strengths, and weaknesses. This commission will draw its members from institutions outside direct parliamentary control, including the general assemblies of the Supreme Courts, the President, the National Ombudsman, and the Supreme Bar Council.
The resulting candidate profiles will be submitted to the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee and made public. Furthermore, the bill proposes a second provisional commission tasked with verifying the asset declarations of SJC and SJC Inspectorate candidates. Experts from financial bodies—such as the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Chamber of Independent Appraisers of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian National Bank—will serve on this commission to confirm the declarations’ veracity and investigate any transactions conducted at suspiciously low prices or using unclear funds.
The proposed changes also address the scope of legal review. The Justice Minister would be granted the authority to challenge any instruments adopted by the SJC in court. This addition is intended to remedy a gap in the current judicial review process, which currently restricts appeal rights, making review nearly impossible during single-candidate election procedures.
These reforms, pushed by the ministry, seek to strengthen oversight across the entire judicial sector.
Topics: #ministry #judicial #election
