With two orders of today, October 2, 2025 - one of the Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) and Head of the Criminal Chamber and one of the President of the Second Criminal Division, the initiation of proceedings on requests filed by the acting Prosecutor General for the reopening of criminal cases is refused.
According to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the powers of the acting Prosecutor General are terminated pursuant to Art. 173, para. 15 of the Judicial System Act (JSA) after the expiration of the six-month period from the entry into force of this provision, therefore a request for the reopening of a criminal case filed by Borislav Sarafov as the acting Prosecutor General Prosecutor General after July 21, 2025, does not constitute a valid referral.
The court explained today:
When checking for the presence of grounds for initiating proceedings for resumption under Chapter Thirty-Three of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the following was taken into account:
The requests received were signed by Acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov.
By decision of the Prosecutorial College of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) under Protocol No. 21/16.06.2023, Borislav Sarafov was designated as acting "Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria".
By the Act on Amendments and Supplements to the Judicial System Act in Art. 173, para. 15 of the JSA (new – SG, issue 6/2025, in force from 21.01.2025) provides that “upon early termination or expiration of the mandate of the Prosecutor General, the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation or the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, a person temporarily performing the relevant functions shall be determined, subject to the following condition: the same person shall not have the right to perform the relevant functions for a period longer than 6 months, regardless of whether there have been interruptions in the performance of the functions“.
The explanatory memorandum emphasizes that the six months from the entry into force of the provision expired on 21.07.2025. The act of appointing Borislav Sarafov as acting Prosecutor General has entered into force, is part of the legal peace as unrevoked and is currently being implemented. The stability of the individual administrative act for determining the i. f. Chief Prosecutor of 16.06.2023 is not opposed to the legal consequences of the new norm of Art. 173, para. 15 of the JSA.
„The effect of this legal provision is such that upon the expiration of the term provided for therein, the current acting Chief Prosecutor Sarafov as of its entry into force cannot perform the functions for which he was appointed by a decision of the Prosecutorial College of the SJC“, the supreme judges are categorical.
According to them, the provision has the so-called non-substantive retroactive effect on existing legal relationships, which means that the law is interested in regulating relations from now on, not re-arranging cases retroactively, accepting the relationships established until then. The newly introduced legal regime re-arranges for the future existing legal relationships that have not ended (non-substantive retroactivity), unlike the substantive retroactivity (Decision No. 5/11.05.2017 of the Constitutional Court). The norm preserves the legal character of the fact that occurred before its entry into force (the appointment of the acting Prosecutor General), but re-arranges its legal consequences.
„Specifically, for this case, it is necessary to conclude that the person who at the time of its entry into force was appointed to perform the functions of the Prosecutor General, upon the expiration of the six months provided for from the time of its entry into force, cannot perform these functions in the future. The interpretation of the norm of Art. 173, para. 15 of the JSA requires a conclusion that the termination of the functions of the acting Prosecutor General The Prosecutor General's powers shall be terminated by virtue of Art. 173, para. 15 of the Judicial Service Act after the expiry of the six-month period from the entry into force of this provision, therefore a request for the reopening of a criminal case filed by the Prosecutor General after 21.07.2025 does not constitute a valid referral to the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Cassation and justifies a ruling refusing to initiate proceedings.
„In this sense, the existence of an active legitimation of the Prosecutor General to file a request for reopening cannot be assumed. In this case, the person who filed the request for reopening – "...the acting Prosecutor General, although formally falling within the circle of persons under Art. 420, para. 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code, cannot exercise this power in accordance with the indicated legislative change under Art. 173, para. 15 of the Criminal Procedure Act," is summarized in the reasons.