Today is the last working day of Georgi Cholakov as the acting head of the Supreme Administrative Court. Starting tomorrow, he will go on a two-month leave, and until the election of a new interim head, the institution will be headed by deputy chairmen Marinika Cherneva and Lyubomir Gaidov, reports the Bulgarian National Radio.
This came about due to the amendments to the Judicial System Act adopted at the beginning of the year, which limited the possibility for a magistrate to temporarily act as the chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court to six months. The same restriction applies to the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Prosecutor's Office.
Unlike the Judicial College, which unanimously decided that the legal provision applies to Cholakov's case, the Prosecutor's Office - after a debate - announced that it does not apply to Borislav Sarafov, who has been acting Prosecutor General since June 2023.
According to the prosecutors in the Supreme Judicial Council, the legislator did not explicitly give retroactive effect to the text and therefore there is no reason to elect one of his deputies as the head of the state prosecution.
Who will temporarily head the Supreme Administrative Court will become clear after the judicial vacation, when, by virtue of the Judicial College's decision, the Plenum of Supreme Judges will convene.