The caretaker Justice Minister of Bulgaria, Andrey Yankulov, announced that his team has prepared revisions to the Judicial System Act aimed at improving the election procedures for the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and the SJC Inspectorate. According to a press release on Friday, the draft legislation is slated for review by the next government formed by Parliament. The proposed revisions introduce two key oversight mechanisms.
First, a special commission of professionals, independent of political forces, will conduct a comprehensive assessment of candidates. This commission, comprising representatives from institutions such as the Supreme Courts, the President, the National Ombudsman, and the Supreme Bar Council, will generate candidate profiles detailing their integrity and professional standing, which will then be published for public review. Secondly, the bill establishes a provisional commission tasked with verifying the asset declarations of all candidates.
This body will include 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 experts will verify declarations for accuracy, specifically investigating any transactions conducted at suspiciously low prices or involving unclear funds. Furthermore, the revisions strengthen the judicial oversight capacity.
The Justice Minister will be granted the right to appeal all instruments adopted by the SJC in court, addressing the current limitation where the law restricts appeals only to directly affected individuals. This ensures greater judicial review, particularly in complex election scenarios. The ministry noted that these measures are designed to enhance transparency throughout the entire selection process for the judicial bodies.
Topics: #ministry #judicial #election
