The caretaker Justice Minister of Bulgaria, Andrey Yankulov, announced 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 from the ministry, the draft legislation is slated for consideration by the next government to be elected by Parliament. The proposed revisions introduce two key independent oversight mechanisms.
First, a special commission of professionals, independent of political forces, will assess candidates. This commission, composed of representatives from bodies such as the Supreme Courts’ general assemblies, the President, the National Ombudsman, and the Supreme Bar Council, will evaluate candidates’ integrity and professional standing. The resulting profiles will be submitted to the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee and made public.
Secondly, a separate provisional commission will be established to verify the asset declarations of all candidates. This body will include financial experts from institutions such as the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Chamber of Independent Appraisers of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian National Bank. Their mandate is to confirm the truthfulness of the declarations and investigate any transactions involving suspiciously low pricing or unclear funding sources.
Furthermore, the draft legislation grants the Justice Minister the authority to challenge decisions made by the SJC in court. This addresses a current gap in judicial review, as the existing law limits appeals only to directly affected individuals, potentially hindering oversight, especially during single-candidate election procedures. The ministry noted that these changes are designed to bolster the integrity of the judicial process.
Topics: #ministry #judicial #election
