The proposals of the Minister of Justice Yankulov for possible disciplinary proceedings against the acting Prosecutor General are not isolated actions. They were preceded by attempts to implement the law - including to appoint a new acting Prosecutor General after the maximum 6-month period had expired. We have seen similar actions before. There was an attempt to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Sotir Tsatsarov when, as a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, I submitted a request regarding “TsUMgate“, but the necessary support was not gathered in the Supreme Judicial Council and it never came to consideration. He announced this to Lili Marinkova in the “FACTI“ studio and the show “Conversation“ Judge Kalin Kalpakchiev.
„The facts listed by the Minister of Justice are well-known. A large part of them can be seen as undermining the prestige of the judiciary. For example, the statements of the acting Prosecutor General regarding current investigations, I am referring to the “Petrohan“ case, as well as his attitude towards the Supreme Court of Cassation. There was an extremely unforgiving and rude manifestation – something we have not seen for nearly 30 years – in which it was suggested through the press center that the Supreme Court of Cassation was acting under political influence, simply because it had applied the law. There are also a number of other actions that could be grounds for raising the issue of removal, as they constitute serious administrative violations. What will be the outcome of such an initiative, however, is difficult to say, because in the end these decisions turn out to be political“, added the guest.
„It is clear to everyone that the judicial system, including the prosecutor's office and the Supreme Judicial Council, are in many cases perceived as a projection of political parties. The problem is that political forces do not bear direct responsibility for the actions of people in the SJC, but create the appearance of independence of the institutions. In this sense, the issue of the removal of the Prosecutor General and the election of a new one has long been political. It will depend on the configuration of the parliament after the elections and on what representatives will be elected in the parliamentary quota of the SJC. If the parties are again allowed to choose convenient and dependent candidates themselves, nothing will change. Therefore, it is necessary to insist on figures with an undisputed professional reputation and public trust. Otherwise, we will continue to reproduce the same model“, said Judge Kalpakchiev.
See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.