We have institutions supported by our taxes, but the work they do, paid for by our taxes, is not to support the people who pay their salaries, it is for private purposes.
This was stated by the former Deputy Minister of Justice Emil Dechev, a judge at the Supreme Court, in an interview with the BNR. He commented on the series of scandals in the justice system, the draft Law on Judicial Power and the events of recent days.
Emil Dechev said that at the "important meeting" of the former ch. Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs - Zhivko Kotsev, with Acting Chief Prosecutor Sarafov, the head of the SGP, his deputy and the head of KONPI are present.
"It is obvious that the conversation is about this case and a few hours later Kotsev resigned. And this, at the very least, creates an impression in the public that the prosecutor's office is probably staffing the top of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This is unacceptable," commented Dechev.
"DANS has been monitoring smuggling for two years, hundreds of millions are leaking and shortly before the elections they decide to take action against the head of the Customs Agency, this is really frivolous. In the situation that hundreds of millions of BGN have flowed from the state treasury into private pockets", Emil Dechev expressed doubts about what is happening.
Regarding the extension of the period of public discussion of the draft Law on Judicial Power by the Ministry of Justice, the former deputy minister commented:
"So it seems that there are many concerns about the bill, but in fact they come from a group of people who at the time were against the closing of the special prosecutor's office and the special courts. It is not true that the judges are disturbed.
The Chamber of Investigators and the Association of Prosecutors have never had an opinion different from that of the Attorney General, whoever he is. The current head of the Association of Prosecutors accompanied Geshev on his last trip to the US, shortly after the attack, because Geshev does not speak English. These two associations have never in history had an opinion contradicting the heads of the investigation and the prosecution."
Dechev explained about the "Bulgarian Judges Association" that he knows four people, two of them are the former chairman of the special court and his deputy: An organization that has no life of its own and is activated when a decision has to be made on an important project for the Court power. To say that there is an opinion different from that of the Union of Judges.
About the draft Law on the Judiciary, Dechev said that he does not claim that it is perfect, but "during work in the working group, we were given the opportunity to discuss at length the problems of the prosecutor's office, the freedom of prosecutors, administrative freedom, for powers of the Attorney General, there was plenty of time".
"This project is really very important. The changes in the Constitution are only the beginning of the judicial reform, there is no way to make a real judicial reform without changes in the Constitution. But the reform cannot stop only with these changes, because the Constitution has general and abstract norms and they require further development in legal and by-laws. England exists without a Constitution, but there are no countries without laws," commented Dechev.
According to him, the draft Law on Judicial Power will be delayed by 1 to 4 years.
"The least possible optimistic option is to leave it as it is and bring it to the National Assembly for a vote. This is the least possible option", predicts the former Deputy Minister of Justice.