The acting Minister of Justice Andrey Yankulov submitted to the Judicial College of the Supreme Judicial Council (SC of the SJC) a proposal to initiate disciplinary proceedings against judge Dian Vassilev of the Administrative Court – Sofia-region, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced.
The proposal states that in his capacity as acting chairman of the Administrative Court – Ruse, judge Vassilev became an intermediary in an attempt to exert undue influence on the part of Dragomir Koyadzhikov, a member of the SC of the SJC, on judge Ivaylo Yosifov regarding his participation in the competition procedure for the selection of the administrative head of the Administrative Court – Ruse, dariknews.bg specified.
The press release also states that according to the data released in the public domain, Judge Vassilev told Judge Yosifov to withdraw from his participation in the competition, having conveyed information on behalf of Koyadzhikov that he would not receive support in the vote in the SJC. The conversation also implied a predetermined outcome of the procedure, as well as warnings of adverse consequences in the event of disagreement on the part of Yosifov, the ministry indicates.
In turn, Yosifov stated that he would make public what had happened during his hearing at the SJC SC, and that he would file a complaint with the State Agency for “National Security“. Later, Judge Vassilev attempted to downplay what he said and to dissuade his colleague from publicizing the case and reporting it to the competent authorities.
Minister Yankulov's proposal states that regardless of whether Judge Vassilev actually had a conversation with Koyadzhikov or invented this conversation, in the first case he becomes a conduit of undue influence, and in the second he violates the prohibition on intrigue. As an administrative head, he not only did not distance himself from the alleged influence, but actively participated in its transfer to another judge, including through suggestions of a predetermined outcome of a competition procedure and insistence on the withdrawal of a candidacy.
Attempts to dissuade the affected judge from publicizing the case and reporting it to the competent authorities have also been established, which in itself constitutes a form of inadmissible pressure and reveals an awareness of the unlawfulness of the behavior. Thus, an “impression of an attempt to conceal such practices“ is created; and “the existence of informal channels for influencing personnel decisions“, the acting Minister of Justice believes.
According to him, with his actions, Judge Vassilev has violated basic principles of the Code of Ethical Conduct of Bulgarian Judges, including the obligation not to allow any influence or pressure, and especially when the judge is in a leading position not to succumb to pressure and suggestions of any nature, not to tolerate and promptly suppress manifestations of snitching and intrigue, as well as the requirements for high moral qualities, integrity and decency.
Tomorrow, the Prosecutorial College of the Supreme Judicial Council will consider the proposal of the acting Minister of Justice Andrey Yankulov to initiate disciplinary proceedings to impose a disciplinary penalty on Borislav Sarafov – acting Prosecutor General at the date of submission of the proposal.