“Democratic Bulgaria” is open to debating a deadlock-breaking mechanism for the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council, but it must be introduced in a way that does not circumvent the requirement for a qualified majority. This was stated by Atanas Slavov, an MP from “Yes, Bulgaria” and former justice minister, on NOVA NEWS’ “Ofanziva s Lyubo Ognyanov” programme.
According to him, two or three attempts should first be made to elect the members with the required 160 votes, and only then should a mechanism for overcoming the deadlock be considered.
“The deadlock-breaking mechanism must be designed intelligently, so that it does not lead to lowering the required majority. For example, there should be two or three attempts to secure the large majority – 160 MPs – and only then should a deadlock-breaking mechanism be introduced, so as not to allow those in power simply to choose their quota on the SJC. We are open to debating this issue,” Slavov said.He noted that such an idea is not new and is included in opinions of the Venice Commission.
Dispute over the president’s role
Slavov opposed the creation of a caretaker SJC. He made the comment in response to an idea put forward by Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov for the president to participate in the procedure if it proves impossible to elect a new composition, including by appointing caretaker members.
The MP said that “Democratic Bulgaria” was still not familiar with the specific parameters of the proposal. According to him, it had not been included in the parliamentary majority’s programme either, which was published three months ago.
“I think that, as a country, we need to put an end to caretaker cabinets and councils. We need to do our job as institutions,” the MP commented.According to Slavov, the president’s possible involvement in selecting a caretaker SJC would upset the balance between the branches of government and contradict a ruling of the Constitutional Court.
Hearings for the parliamentary quota
Slavov described the hearings held for the candidates for the parliamentary quota on the SJC as substantive, regardless of their duration. In his view, the candidates were asked specific questions and had the opportunity to demonstrate their professional qualities and competence.
The MP clarified that different assessments could be made of the performance of the individual candidates, but no talks had so far been held on supporting specific nominations.
“We are assessing the hearings that have taken place, and over the next 2 weeks a common point of agreement must be found,” Slavov said.
Sources: nova.bg