Lawmakers Vote to Amend Judiciary Act, Changing Main Prosecutor Election Rules
Bulgarian lawmakers held a first reading and supported three bills amending the Judiciary Act related to the election of a new Chief Prosecutor. The bills, proposed by "Continuing Change – Democratic Bulgaria" and "There Is Such a People", received unanimous support with 222 votes in favor. "Sunrise" party’s bill was supported by 193 votes and opposed by 28.
The "Continuing Change – Democratic Bulgaria" bill allows all members of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), not only those from the Prosecutorial College, to propose candidates for Chief Prosecutor. If the President rejects a proposed candidate, judicial officials can reconfirm their choice with a majority vote from the magistrates‘ quota. The bill also includes provisions to halt ongoing procedures for electing the Chief Prosecutor and the Chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), and introduces various restrictions for those holding these positions temporarily.
The "Sunrise" bill stipulates that the SJC Plenum, with an expired term, cannot conduct procedures or vote on proposals for Chief Prosecutor, SAC Chairperson, and Supreme Cassation Court (SCC) Chairperson.
The bill presented by "There Is Such a People" suggests that the prosecutor’s office structure mirror that of courts handling criminal cases, and limits the Chief Prosecutor’s powers within the bounds of their role as an independent constitutional body. The proposed amendments aim to create equal rules for commanding all magistrates across all judicial structures.
The election of a new Chief Prosecutor is scheduled for January 16. The procedure opened on June 22, with the SJC Plenum acting on the Prosecutorial College’s proposal. Only one nomination, that of Borislav Sharakhov, was submitted during the process, which was initiated by Prosecutorial College members Stefan Petrov, Plamen Nedkov, and Svetlana Boshnakova.
