Today's session of the General Assembly of Investigators to elect a member of the new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) from the professional quota of investigators has ended.
Today, a chairperson and members of the electoral committee were elected, the members of the polling stations were appointed, and the candidates from the investigators' quota were heard.
People have decided whether to run, acting head of the National Investigation Service (NIS) Marian Marinov told the media in response to a question about why there are only two candidates. Unfortunately, we have only one representative of the Investigation Service in the Prosecutors' Chamber of the SJC, he added.
A review of the work of the council's previous composition and changes to the rules for conducting competitions for magistrates were proposed by Supreme Judicial Council member candidate Boyko Atanasov, an investigator at the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office. He said he wanted to contribute to improving the quality of investigators' work and increasing the effectiveness of the prosecution service. Atanasov also said he would work to find solutions to the problems in the prosecution service and the Prosecutors' Chamber of the SJC.
Petko Petkov, a candidate for member of the Supreme Judicial Council, proposed expanding the functional competence of investigators, speeding up competition procedures and limiting long-term secondments. In his concept, Petkov said that, if elected, he would work to establish the Investigation Service as a key structure in the judicial system. He proposed legislative changes to expand investigators' powers when investigating cases of high factual and legal complexity, cybercrimes and large-scale financial abuses.
According to the timeline adopted by the SJC, on November 21, next Saturday, the General Assembly of Investigators will continue its work and the magistrates will vote on which of the nominated investigators should join the new SJC.
BTA is covering the election of members of the Supreme Judicial Council from the quotas of the National Assembly, judges, prosecutors and investigators under the Developing Story (section): The New Supreme Judicial Council.