After opening a month ago the procedure for the election of new chief prosecutor, today the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council will discuss the start of the selection procedure for the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, BNR reported.
This happens a month before the end of the mandate of the current head of the SAC, Georgi Cholakov.
Cholakov's mandate expires on November 22, and according to the chronogram adopted by the Judicial College, which will be discussed by the SJC Plenum, the election of his successor should take place on March 20.
The decision to start the procedure passed with 8 to 3 votes. The President of the Supreme Court Galina Zakharova and Supreme Judges Atanaska Disheva and Olga Kerelska were against. Again, they voted against restarting the election for the chief prosecutor with the same motive - a constitutionally prohibitive text and the expired mandate of this composition of the SJC.
Doubts in the legitimacy of the Council - both because of the mandate, but also because of controversial decisions during its seven years to choose the next Prosecutor number one - were expressed by lawyers, non-governmental organizations, political parties, and twice by President Radev.
To the calls for abstinence yesterday, the Union of Judges in Bulgaria added the election of the chairman of the Supreme Court.