We have witnessed personnel appointments and decisions that are not based on the law, said the Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov in "Speak Now" on BNT about the work of the Supreme Judicial Council.
Nikolay Naydenov, Minister of Justice: "I would not like to commit to an unambiguous assessment, but the length of their mandate affected the quality of their work. We have witnessed personnel appointments and decisions that are not based on the law. I believe that there have been some disproportionate distortions in their activities."
On the judicial reforms, the Minister of Justice stated:
Nikolai Naydenov, Minister of Justice: "The judicial reforms have crashed. The 2015 reforms led to the election of Ivan Geshev. They also led to the creation of the prerequisites for people to take control of the judicial system. The previous reforms, on the other hand, crashed in the Constitutional Court. It is a bit ridiculous for the captain of the “Titanic“ to have claims to expertise in shipping."
On Emilia Rusinova and her removal as head of the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office, Naydenov commented:
Nikolai Naydenov, Minister of Justice: "I believe that she is able to influence the objectivity of the actions taken. This is the largest prosecutor's office that can investigate magistrates and politicians. It should not even be in the courtroom, because based on informal contacts it can influence the activity being carried out — exchange of services or in some other way influence the integrity of the people who are called upon to lead this entire proceeding. I believe that its absence from there will not negatively affect the judicial system."
Regarding the budget of the Supreme Judicial Council and its reduction, Naydenov commented:
Nikolay Naydenov, Minister of Justice: "Bulgaria is in first place in the EU in terms of the budget of the judiciary, in figures this amounts to over 700 million euros. What we have done is to eliminate the automatism in the increase in salaries. At the beginning of this year, the magistrate community and court employees received a 5% salary increase. There will be no reduction in salaries. The SJC is the one that needs to prioritize its spending. In recent months, orders worth millions of euros have been placed. Last month, orders worth 1.6 million euros were placed for the maintenance of an information system that is not working. We believe that there is a possibility that some of these orders for development and maintenance are inflated in value or predetermined in advance - there are also seven-figure sums."
On the reduction of the state administration, Naydenov commented:
Nikolay Naydenov, Minister of Justice: "I intend to tour the appellate districts, to calm their concerns. They are the backbone of judicial work and no one wants these employees to fear for their future and their livelihood. We will not make any cuts before conducting a functional analysis of which areas can be cut and which cannot."
Regarding the flights of Delyan Peevski and Desislava Atanasova, the minister stated:
Nikolay Naydenov, Minister of Justice: "Such data are at least worrying. But let those who chose it not rush to renounce it. They are to blame for this choice."