The candidates for the new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) must prove not only their professionalism, but also their independence and integrity. This was stated in the program "Denyat ON AIR" by the MP from "Yes, Bulgaria" and former Minister of Justice Assoc. Prof. Atanas Slavov.
"We are not naive to expect that someone will say that they are a Freemason or a Templar. If you decide the fates of people, they should be aware of which god you worship - the law or the brothers from the lodge. There have been such cases over the years," Slavov told Bulgaria ON AIR.
According to him, there has been a consultation process for the new composition of the SJC all along. He pointed to the nominations of Andrey Yankulov, Tanya Radulovska-Madamdzhieva and Emil Dechev and emphasized their professional experience.
"Everyone has long experience in the judicial system, undisputed names," the former Minister of Justice assured.
Regarding the 11 names proposed by "Progressive Bulgaria", Slavov refused to comment on specific candidates, but pointed out that according to public data there are questions about some of them.
"There are names about which, according to public data, there were doubts - about rapid career growth, about connections. These doubts must be refuted. "If a person jumps from the prosecutor's office to the court in a short period of time, this must be explained," the politician commented.
According to him, the performance of each candidate must be assessed individually, and at this stage doubts about some of the nominations remain. Slavov emphasized that there should be no talk of quotas, but that candidates should be evaluated on merit and according to the positions they have taken on specific problems of the judicial system.
"If you have worked in the judicial system for 20 years and have not said anything about the problems in it, how do we know that you will not become dependent upon entering the SJC?", he asked.
When asked whether compromises would be made in the selection of the new composition, Assoc. Prof. Slavov was categorical: "Compromises should not be made when it comes to managing the judicial system - we are in this position because of compromises".
He specified that the PP and the DB are separate parliamentary groups, with three of their candidacies being common. Whether there will be support for other candidates remains to be seen after the presentation of their nominations and concepts. Assoc. Prof. Slavov expects the election of the new Supreme Judicial Council to be completed by the end of November.
"I expect it by the end of November, so that it can start functioning from December", he said.
On the topic of the presidential elections, Slavov said that the people in Andrey Gyurov's initiative committee were chosen by the candidates and represent a "very colorful amalgam" of famous names.
According to him, it is not unusual that there are no party-affiliated individuals among them, since this was not the logic of the process.
"Gyurov and Kandev did not seek support from us either. They are not looking for parties, but support from citizens. I don't expect Gyurov to knock on the door of the GERB party, but it is normal for him to seek support from their voters," commented the constitutionalist.
Slavov described Gyurov's candidacy as more acceptable than that of Iliana Yotova and allowed for a political agreement around the presidential vote.
"I do not rule out a deal between Borisov and Radev for these elections. I do not rule out that Borisov has negotiated some support for Yotova. It is important for him to show that he will not lose anymore," added the former justice minister.
In his words, GERB is "very client-oriented," and he linked the inclusion of some mayors in Yotova's initiative committee to this.
When asked when the official position would be announced, Slavov replied that "it is probably a matter of hours, there will be no surprises."