The Prosecutor General is assisted by up to three deputies, the parliamentary legal committee voted on the second reading with amendments to the Judiciary Act. Now there are two deputies, BTA reported.
The Prosecutor General organizes the activities of the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office, the National Investigation Service (NIS) and the administrative heads of the prosecutor's office. He appoints and dismisses employees in the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme Judicial Council and the Prosecutor General's Administration, the texts stipulate.
The Director of the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office will no longer be the Deputy Prosecutor General for Investigation, as is the case in the current law.
The National Assembly shall elect the Chief Inspector and inspectors to the Inspectorate of the Supreme Judicial Council no earlier than 6 months and no later than two months before the expiration of their term of office, the Legal Committee adopted.
The proposals for candidates for Chief Inspector and inspectors shall be made no later than two months before the election before the specialized standing committee of the National Assembly by deputies, from the general meetings of the Supreme Judicial Council and the Supreme Court of Cassation.
When, after the vote in the National Assembly, not all members of the Inspectorate to the Supreme Judicial Council have been elected or the Chief Inspector has not been elected, the Parliament shall launch a new procedure within two weeks for the election of the remaining inspectors or a chief inspector, is recorded in the texts voted by the committee.
An elected member of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) cannot be a person who, within the previous term of office of the elected members of the SJC, was the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court or the Chief Prosecutor, the deputies from the relevant committee voted.
They also agreed that an elected member of the SJC cannot be a person who, in the last two years, was appointed to perform the functions of the Chairman of the SAC, the Supreme Administrative Court or the Chief Prosecutor for more than six months, regardless of whether there is an interruption of the functions.
The idea is to prevent the concentration of power in the personnel body, explained Dimitar Petrov from „Progressive Bulgaria“.
The majority did not accept one of the members of the SJC, elected from the parliamentary quota, who participates in the Judicial College, to be elected upon a proposal by the General Assembly of Lawyers of the country.
The proposal that one of the members of the SJC, who participates in the judicial college, be elected upon a proposal by the Union of Lawyers in Bulgaria was also not approved. The text that one of the members of the SJC, who participates in the prosecutorial college, be elected upon a general proposal by the Academic Council of Sofia University was also rejected. As well as one of the members of the Supreme Judicial Council from the quota of the National Assembly, who participates in the prosecutorial college, be elected upon a proposal by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
The majority rejected the proposal of “Democratic Bulgaria“ that the SJC work in sessions, and not continuously. Currently, it is a permanently operating body. The draft laws also provide that the elected members of the SJC will retain their status as judges, prosecutors or investigators.
Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov commented that the current proposals are related to ensuring the delayed elections of members of the SJC and the Inspectorate. Whether the Council should be a permanent body or not - cannot be decided between the two readings, it requires a more serious debate, he believes. We are looking too closely at things that are subject to further change and more in-depth analysis, the minister emphasized.
Velislav Velichkov from „We continue the change“ believes that the winner of the parliamentary elections should not receive the largest number of parliamentary quotas in the SJC, so that politics is not transferred there. Therefore, it is good to have the opinions and proposals of the most influential legal organizations such as the Union of Lawyers, representatives of the three universities with the highest rating, he added.
We are not against the public quota, but now is not the time, said Dimitar Petrov from “Progressive Bulgaria“. The political responsibility is to make it clear which members of parliament have proposed the relevant members of the SJC.
At the beginning of the meeting, Petar Petrov from “Vazrazhdane” said that it is not good legislative practice to introduce changes between the two readings, away from the original idea, which target completely different aspects of the judiciary than the original ones.
Nadezhda Yordanova from “Democratic Bulgaria“ commented that two main problems that are urgent need to be solved – to limit the possibility of the SJC with an expired mandate to perform part of its functions, on the other hand – to ensure the election of a new Prosecutor General. According to the DB, it is important to open the election for members of the SJC by providing the opportunity for nominations from a wide range of public organizations.
Stoyu Stoev from “We continue the change“ noted that the main idea is to improve the procedure for electing the SJC and its Inspectorate at a legal level.
The debate was also attended by Acting Prosecutor General Vanya Stefanova, representatives of the judiciary, the courts of appeal, non-governmental organizations, and legal organizations in our country.