I handed over the Ministry of Justice with quite advanced initiatives for the short period in which I was in this position. There are even things that my successor to the post could use if he wanted. This was stated in the program “Na Fokus” by the former Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Justice Andrey Yankulov.
“It is difficult to say whether problems are being solved, especially in such a position as Minister of Justice. Rather, important topics are being put on the agenda and questions are being raised before the judicial system when it comes to it. In this regard, a number of things were advanced, some of which remain to be resolved. For example, the proposals to initiate disciplinary proceedings that we made - they are now pending a ruling from the relevant Judicial and Prosecutorial Colleges on whether such proceedings will be initiated“, he emphasized.
Yankulov expressed hope that the two colleges will give a positive opinion, because there are serious arguments in the relevant proposals. “I hope there will be a result, including with regard to Mr. Sarafov and Ms. Rusinova. The arguments are extremely strong, especially for the Prosecutorial College. The same applies to our proposal in the Judicial College for Judge Vassilev“, he emphasized.
Regarding the “Sarafov” case; Yankulov was categorical that “there was no battle with Sarafov“. “From the first day, it was necessary to raise the question of the legitimate performance of the functions of the Prosecutor General, since the legal system was in a serious crisis. Despite the law that limited the possibility for him to perform these functions after July 21, this continued. That is why I submitted a proposal to the Supreme Judicial Council, which I consider to be the competent body to rule on," he explained.
Regarding the resignation submitted by Borislav Sarafov, the former Minister of Justice emphasized that he accepted this act as a "withdrawal of consent to hold the position". "This was an opportunity that depends entirely on his will. I do not know what his motives were, he did not announce them publicly. But the timing coincided with the election results," he commented.
As for whether a regrouping in the judicial system is possible, Yankulov indicated that this will become clear in the coming months. "The new majority is declaring changes to the Law on the Judiciary and the method of electing the Supreme Judicial Council, which is an important step. But the key is whether there is political will for these changes to be real, not formal," he said.
When asked why he had stopped several procedures, including for European prosecutors and appointments to The Hague, Yankulov explained: "Because the way these appointments are being carried out is opaque and problematic. The same pattern of malfeasance that we see internally is also being carried over to European appointments. There are committees with expired mandates and questionable procedure, as well as a lack of clarity on how specific candidates were selected".