The team associated with the Bulgarian caretaker Justice Minister, Andrey Yankulov, has issued revisions to the Judicial System Act. According to a press release from the ministry on Friday, these changes aim to enhance the procedures governing the election of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) and its Inspectorate. The draft legislation is slated for review by the next government to be elected by Parliament.
The proposed revisions introduce several key procedural safeguards. First, they mandate the creation of a special commission composed of professionals independent of political forces. This body will conduct an objective assessment of candidates, providing evaluations of their integrity, strengths, and weaknesses.
This assessment will be conducted by 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 published for public review. Furthermore, the bill envisions a provisional commission tasked with verifying the asset declarations of all SJC and Inspectorate candidates.
This commission will draw expertise from financial bodies such as the Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Chamber of Independent Appraisers of Bulgaria, and the Bulgarian National Bank. These bodies will confirm the veracity of the declarations and investigate any transactions conducted at suspiciously low prices or using funds of unclear origin. Finally, the revisions address the scope of judicial review.
The Justice Minister will be granted the authority to contest all instruments adopted by the SJC in court. This is intended to remedy a current gap, as the existing law limits appeal rights primarily to directly affected individuals, a limitation noted as particularly problematic during single-candidate election procedures.
Topics: #ministry #judicial #election
