The parliamentary group of “We Continue the Change“ proposes 7 candidates for members of the Supreme Judicial Council, assessing their high professional and moral qualities. We believe that all of them had the courage to speak openly about the problems of the judicial system, and some of them also had the opportunity to work for change of the system as ministers and deputy ministers, say Assen Vassilev's party in a message sent to the media.
Five of the proposed candidates were nominated by professional organizations and the non-governmental sector.
Andrei Yankulov for member of the Prosecutorial College of the SJC
Andrei Yankulov is a lawyer with over 20 years of legal experience, who began his career as a junior prosecutor and prosecutor in the Sofia District Prosecutor's Office, and later in the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (2017-2020), where he worked on international cooperation and execution of sentences. He has held key positions in the executive branch - Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Deputy Minister of Justice, and in 2026 - Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice in the caretaker government. After leaving the judiciary, he practiced as a criminal lawyer and worked as a senior legal expert at the “Anti-Corruption Fund“ Foundation (2020-2026), where he co-authored the annual reports on monitoring corruption at the highest levels of government. According to the assessment of the leading civil society organizations that nominated him, he has shown independence in upholding his views on reforming the judicial system. The combination of experience as a prosecutor, lawyer, head of department and civil expert gives him a broad view of the judicial system. His candidacy is nominated by seven leading civil society organizations working in the field of the rule of law.
Prof. Dr. Vesselin Vuchkov for member of the Prosecutorial College of the SJC
Prof. Dr. Vesselin Vuchkov has a total legal experience of 32 years. His career began as an investigator, then he turned to the academic sphere, successively passing through the positions of assistant, associate professor and professor of criminal procedural law at the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and later at the New Bulgarian University and the South-West University "N. Rilski". In 2003 he defended his doctoral dissertation, and since 2016 he has been a professor of criminal procedural law. In the period 2009-2013 he was Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and under his leadership key legislative reforms were introduced - the standard for proportional use of force and weapons by police officers, expanding the powers of the police to carry out investigative actions, as well as providing notaries with access to an identity database in order to combat property fraud. He demonstrated his independence by resigning from the post of Minister of Internal Affairs in March 2015 due to disagreements with the Prime Minister. His candidacy was nominated by the Union of Lawyers in Bulgaria - the largest legal non-governmental organization in the country.
Tanya Radulovska-Madamzhieva for member of the Judicial College of the Supreme Judicial Council
Tanya Radulovska-Madamzhieva graduated from the Sofia University of Law “St. Kliment Ohridski“ with honors and has about 23 years of legal experience. Her career includes the positions of junior expert in the Ministry of Transport, legal expert in the Financial Supervision Commission, junior judge in the Sofia City Court, and from 2007 to 2018 - judge in the Sofia District Court with specialization in youth justice, receiving a comprehensive assessment of “Very good“ and irremovability status, as well as the rank of “judge in the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court“. In the period 2012-2014 she was the Chairperson of the Management Board of the Union of Judges in Bulgaria, and in 2015 she was elected as a member of the competition committee for the appointment of judges in the district courts. In the period March-May 2026 she was the Deputy Minister of Justice, where she led the development of a concept for the protection of magistrates from pressure and threats. She demonstrates consistent independence – publicly opposes political pressure on the judiciary, including by participating in a protest in 2015 in defense of the constitutional guarantees of judicial independence. She combines experience as an ordinary judge, head of a professional organization, lawyer and representative of the executive branch, which gives her a multifaceted view of the functioning of the judicial system. She currently works as a lawyer. Her candidacy is nominated by seven leading civil society organizations working in the field of the rule of law.
Evgeniy Staykov as a member of the Supreme Judicial Council's Judicial College
Evgeniy Staykov was the President of the Sofia City Court from 1994 to 1998. He headed the Sofia Court of Appeal as its President for 11 years. From 2003 to 2007, he was a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, elected from the quota of judges. After leaving the judiciary, he worked as a lawyer until 2015, when, after winning an external competition, he joined the Commercial College of the Supreme Judicial Council, and from March 2022 until his retirement in 2026, he was the Deputy President of the Supreme Judicial Council and Head of the Commercial College. He was recognized for his contribution to consolidating the activities of the College and solving problems with the timeliness of scheduling cases, for which he was awarded honors upon his release. He also has experience as a member of the Presidium and an arbitrator in the Arbitration Court at the BCCI. His professional career, management experience, competence and proven independence define him as a candidate with the necessary qualities for a member of the Supreme Judicial Council. His candidacy for the Judicial College of the SJC was proposed by the Bulgarian Association for European Law and supported by the BCCI.
Svetlozar Georgiev for member of the Judicial College of the SJC
Svetlozar Georgiev has been a judge since 1995 with many years of legal experience, having served as President of the Military Court in Varna and Deputy President of the District and District Courts in Varna. He currently serves in the Criminal Division of the District Court - Varna, where he also hears landmark cases, including against the leader of “Volya“ Vesselin Mareshki. In 2017, he was charged with exerting pressure on a prosecutor, but within a year he was acquitted in three court instances. After the acquittal, he successfully sued the prosecutor's office and received compensation of over 90,000 leva for the damages suffered from the unfounded criminal prosecution. His case was publicly commented on as an example of institutional pressure on an independent magistrate, which supports the conclusions about his professional independence and readiness to defend his rights in accordance with the law. His candidacy was nominated by the Association “Unity Initiative“.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vasil Pandov for member of the Judicial College of the SJC
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vasil Pandov graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski“ in 2002 and specialized at the University of Cambridge. He is currently an associate professor of private international law at the Faculty of Law of Sofia University, where he teaches subjects such as international commercial arbitration, international transport law and consular functions. He was Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) and Head of the Cabinet of the Minister of Health. A member of parliament in several national assemblies, his main public causes being related to affordable healthcare and the protection of fundamental rights. His candidacy for a member of the Supreme Judicial Council from the National Assembly quota was put forward by “We Continue the Change“.
Emil Ivanov Dechev for a member of the Prosecutorial College of the Supreme Judicial Council
Emil Dechev was born on May 5, 1970. His career began as an investigator, and later became a criminal judge at the Pleven District Court. He continues as a criminal judge at the Sofia City Court, with his total legal experience of nearly 30 years, the majority of which in criminal justice. In 2022, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice in the government of Kiril Petkov, retaining the position during the term of the caretaker minister Krum Zarkov, and in 2023-2024 he was again Deputy Minister of Justice. During the caretaker government of Andrey Gyurov, he was Minister of Internal Affairs. Dechev combines many years of experience as a criminal judge with experience in the executive branch, which gives him a diverse institutional perspective. His public positions against the shortcomings in the judicial system, as well as the Ministry of Internal Affairs system, which are inextricably linked in the context of criminal prosecution, are well known, as Emil Dechev has repeatedly shown that he is not afraid to express his opinion on all issues of importance to society. His candidacy for a member of the Supreme Judicial Council from the National Assembly quota is being promoted by “We Continue the Change“.