There are indications of attempts to influence the election of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) by representatives of the judiciary who hold leadership positions. This was stated by the Minister of Justice Nikolay Naydenov to journalists in Lovech. According to him, such pressure has not been exerted by representatives of the executive branch and will not be exerted.
He categorically denied that the Ministry of Justice or other ministers exerted pressure in connection with the election of the SJC. According to him, any signal of such actions should be considered seriously, and the institutions should take measures within their powers. "I want to assure you that the Ministry of Justice and the other ministers have not exerted such pressure and will not," Naydenov said.
He also said that speculations with names of ministers, intercessions, meetings or informal influences must be stopped. I categorically deny them, he stressed.
According to him, on the website of the Ministry of Justice, anyone can submit a signal, which he will personally examine. The minister said that his office is also open to magistrates, associations and unions of judges, prosecutors and investigators who feel worried, threatened or pressured. The executive branch, within its powers, will be uncompromising, Naydenov stressed.
Naydenov also said that the SJC, in accordance with the legal deadlines, should be elected by mid-November. “I hope for the wisdom of the parliamentary forces to unite around the appropriate candidates. This is a chance that has been wasted in the last four years. No attempts have even been made for it due to political instability. I hope that with the reasonably thinking political forces we will gather 160 deputies so that we can elect a new SJC that will kick off all the delayed procedures, including the election of the Prosecutor General, the Supreme Administrative Court and complete the competition procedures for the judiciary, which are currently suspended“, the Minister of Justice said.
Regarding the election of the Prosecutor General, the Minister specified that it will be made by the SJC, since it is the Council that is the competent body for this. However, according to him, the procedure will be different from those used so far. We will give more publicity, more opportunity for you, the media, to ask your questions, receive answers, express opinions that will be considered publicly, explained Naydenov.
The Minister of Justice was a guest at the solemn celebration of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the Lovech prison. There was a lot of criticism of Bulgaria regarding places of deprivation of liberty, but from what I saw, I am satisfied with the conditions. I saw that there is a school, I saw that there are workshops, I saw that there is a hospital - something that impressed me, said Nikolay Naydenov, quoted by BTA.