The caretaker Justice Minister, Andrey Yankulov, announced that the Ministry has prepared revisions to the Judicial System Act aimed at enhancing the procedures surrounding the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and its Inspectorate. According to a press release issued Friday, this draft legislation is slated for consideration by the next government elected by Parliament. The proposed amendments introduce two major procedural safeguards.
First, they mandate the creation of a special commission composed of professionals independent of political parties. This body would be tasked with conducting a professional assessment of candidates, offering objective evaluations of their integrity, strengths, and weaknesses. This commission would draw expertise from non-parliamentary institutions, including the general assemblies of the Supreme Courts, the President, the National Ombudsman, and the Supreme Bar Council.
The resulting candidate profiles would be submitted to the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee and made public. Secondly, the bill proposes a provisional commission dedicated to verifying the asset declarations of all candidates for the SJC and the SJC Inspectorate. Representation on this commission would come from financial experts, such as the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Chamber of Independent Appraisers of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian National Bank.
These experts would verify declarations for accuracy and investigate any transactions flagged as suspiciously low-priced or originating from unclear funds. Furthermore, the revisions address the scope of judicial oversight. The Justice Minister would be granted the authority to contest any instruments adopted by the SJC in court.
This measure aims to fill a gap in the current judicial review process, which limits appeal rights primarily to directly affected individuals. The Ministry noted that this expansion is necessary, particularly in competition scenarios involving a single candidate. These changes overhaul the governance aspects surrounding the SJC election process.
Topics: #ministry #judicial #election
