The changes to the Judiciary Act, finally adopted by the Parliament, mark the beginning of the procedure for electing a new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council. Is this a real start of the judicial reform, or merely the fulfillment of a belated legal obligation - commented the head of the legal program of the Institute for Market Economy Ivan Bregov and the former director of the National Investigation Service Boyko Naydenov.
According to Ivan Bregov, what happened does not represent a real reform.
„This is the beginning of a procedure that should have been carried out back in 2022. The National Assembly is simply exercising its competence, as written in the law. Nothing more than that“, he said.
According to him, one of the serious criticisms of the changes is that the possibility of deputy administrative heads in courts and prosecutors' offices being promoted without a competition has not been eliminated.
“This text was adopted back in 2016 with one sole purpose – to find people who are comfortable, responsive and can become part of the judicial nomenclature“, said Bregov.
He also expressed concerns about the way in which the elections for the professional quota in the SJC will be held.
“If those who are not interested do not go to vote, and the rest are mobilized, there is a risk that the same judicial nomenclature that we saw in 2022 will be reproduced again“, he believes.
Boyko Naydenov defined the changes as a return to normality, but emphasized that the true assessment will come only after the election of the new personnel officers.
“In fact, we are implementing something that should have been done four years ago. From now on, whether it happens in the right way will become clear later“, he commented.
According to him, even the best law cannot produce results if it is not implemented by the right people.
„The best law is implemented by people. That is why rules, procedures and publicity are important. Society should know who is applying and why they are selected“, said Naydenov.
He believes that the judicial system lacks sufficient motivation for change.
„Why change the status quo, since it provides good salaries, peace of mind and no one is seeking responsibility? For three and a half years there has been no inspectorate that can actually check the work of individual magistrates“, pointed out the former director of the National Investigation Service.