Six judges have been elected as representatives of the judicial quota in the new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council. They are Maria Terziyska, Svetlana Kalinova, Daniela Aleksandrova, Vasil Petkov, Veselka Zlateva-Kozhuharova and Emilia Vasileva.
The results were announced by Biser Troyanov, a judge at the Supreme Court of Cassation and chair of the Election Commission at the General Assembly of Judges. The vote on November 8 was repeated after none of the candidates received the required majority in the first round on November 7.
A total of 1,914 out of 2,275 judges took part in the repeat vote. There were 1,904 valid and 10 invalid ballots. Maria Terziyska received 892 votes, Svetlana Kalinova – 778, Daniela Aleksandrova – 689, Vasil Petkov – 681, Veselka Zlateva-Kozhuharova – 671, and Emilia Vasileva – 659.
Maria Terziyska – a judge with experience in three areas
Maria Kirilova Terziyska is deputy chair of the Regional Court in Varna and has headed its Commercial Division since May 2014. She graduated in law from Sofia University in 1999, and in 2000 began working as a junior judge at the Regional Court in Varna.
She subsequently served in the Criminal Division of the District Court in Varna, the Administrative Division of the Regional Court, and later the Commercial Division. Her professional career spans more than 22 years and three main areas of the justice system.
Among the priorities she has outlined are improving competitive selection procedures and performance evaluations, accurately measuring workloads, developing the judicial map and completing the digitalisation process. She also emphasises updating the rules governing court employees and court clerical work.
Svetlana Kalinova and Emilia Vasileva – the two voices from the Supreme Court of Cassation
Svetlana Petrova Kalinova has been a judge in the Civil Division of the Supreme Court of Cassation since May 2003. Before that, between February 1999 and May 2003, she worked on civil cases at the Sofia City Court.
Kalinova has been a member of the Analytical Unit at the Supreme Court of Cassation since October 2022 and of the Programme Council of the National Institute of Justice since January 2023. In her concept, she places the independence of the judiciary at the forefront, including through the budget, personnel policy, workload, court administration and digitalisation.
Emilia Vasileva Vasileva also comes from the Supreme Court of Cassation. She has been a judge at the court since 2008 and is currently chair of the Second Commercial Division of the Commercial Chamber. Before that, she served as a judge at the Sofia District Court, the Sofia City Court and the Sofia Court of Appeal.
Vasileva is a member of the Programme Council of the National Institute of Justice. She has taken part in examinations and training for junior judges, as well as in regional seminars for magistrates. Among her stated priorities are restoring trust in the SJC, predictable personnel policy, resolving problems with competitive selection procedures and performance evaluations, e-justice and the impact of artificial intelligence.
Daniela Aleksandrova – from the prosecution service to the leadership of the Sofia District Court
Daniela Bozhidarova Aleksandrova has been deputy chair of the Sofia District Court and a judge there since September 2014. She began her professional career as a junior prosecutor at the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Blagoevgrad in 2005, and in 2007 was appointed a prosecutor at the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office.
Aleksandrova identifies as the main tasks for the new SJC the completion of pending competitive selection procedures, transparency in secondments, and better distribution of work and resources according to actual workloads. She also emphasises the qualification of court administration staff, the budget and the technological environment.
Vasil Petkov – extensive management experience
Vasil Marinov Petkov is a judge at the Military Court of Appeal and has more than 22 years of experience in the judicial system. At the beginning of his career, he worked as a legal adviser at the Ministry of Defence, and in 2004 was a junior prosecutor at the District Prosecutor’s Office in Kotel.
In 2005, Petkov became a judge at the District Court in Yambol, which he headed between 2009 and 2014. He then chaired the Regional Court in Yambol before being appointed to the Military Court of Appeal. In his concept, he identifies the judiciary’s budget, rules on remuneration, speeding up competitive selection procedures and stricter expenditure management as priorities.
Veselka Zlateva-Kozhuharova – an administrative judge from Pazardzhik
Veselka Velkova Zlateva-Kozhuharova is chair of the Administrative Court in Pazardzhik. She has 28 years of experience in the judicial system, including 23 years as a judge at the District Court in Pazardzhik.
Zlateva-Kozhuharova graduated from the German Language High School in Pazardzhik and studied law at Plovdiv University. She took part in a working group tasked with drafting a concept for the introduction of mandatory judicial mediation.
Among the issues she has identified as awaiting resolution are competitive selection procedures and personnel planning, workloads and the judicial map, e-justice, the status of court employees, court clerical work, ethical standards and financial policy.
The Election Commission’s decision on the election result may be appealed within seven days through the Judicial College of the SJC. Once this period has expired and any appeal procedures have been completed, it will become clear when the newly elected representatives will begin their terms.
Sources: banker.bg, bnrnews.bg, paragrafa.com