site.btaSupreme Judicial Council Prosecutors Chamber Declines to Designate New Acting Prosecutor General

Meeting on Wednesday, the Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) voted unanimously to adopt a decision leaving without consideration a proposal by caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov to designate a new acting prosecutor general replacing the incumbent Borislav Sarafov.

On February 26, the SJC Plenum left without consideration Yankulov's proposal to designate a new acting prosecutor general and decided to refer the proposal to the Prosecutors Chamber as the body competent to deal with the matter.

During Wednesday's meeting, Yankulov asked the Chamber to consider the overall governance of the prosecution service during Sarafov's tenure, his conduct, and the length during which he has held the office.

The Justice Minister said that the SJC members are objectively unable to elect a regular holder of the office because their own term has expired. He argued that another acting prosecutor general or another temporary holder of the office should be elected so that the temporary tenure would not be excessively long.

According to Yankulov, up till now Sarafov has not delivered on any of the key commitments he assumed when taking office, such as to do everything possible to purge the prosecution service of the parallel justice system known as "The Eight Dwarfs", and has not tried hard enough to earn public trust.

The Debate

Stefan Petrov: A Judicial System Act provision limits the maximum period during which a particular individual may fill a premature vacancy as acting prosecutor general to six months, irrespective of whether this period is uninterrupted or not.

Kalina Chapkanova: The Justice Minister has urged the Chamber to act guided solely by its inner conviction, ignoring the law rules. The caretaker minister's legal standing to approach the Chamber, even indirectly through the SJC Plenum, is debatable.

Ognyan Damyanov: Which law rule entitles Yankulov to approach the Chamber about the acting prosecutor general?

Gergana Mutafova: Yankulov's proposal is inadmissible because the Chamber has already adopted a decision on the matter and it has not been appealed. The prosecution service is in an absurd situation, with an acting prosecutor general for more than two years as a result of a number of legislative proposals adopted in the past and with no new SJC lineup elected.

Yordan Stoev: The caretaker Justice Minister is not competent to introduce such an item on the agenda because the law does not vest him with such powers.

Andrey Yankulov: Once the Justice Minister is competent to nominate a regular holder of the office of prosecutor general, he is also competent to nominate an acting prosecutor general, and the Constitution empowers him to approach the Chamber. It transpires from the Chamber members' statements that Sarafov will remain acting prosecutor general until the election of a regular holder of the office, which will have to wait until the election of a new SJC line-up, whenever this will happen.

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There is lingering controversy over the legitimacy of Sarafov's continued tenure as acting prosecutor general. The SJC Prosecutors Chamber argues that the six-month time limit does not apply to Sarafov because his election on June 16, 2023 predated the revision in question, which does not make specific provisions for this situation. In September 2025, the Chamber confirmed its decision by which Sarafov was designated acting prosecutor general and refused to initiate administrative proceedings for the designation of his successor.

On the other hand, some Bulgarian courts argue that, under the Judicial System Act as amended, his capacity as acting prosecutor general lapsed on July 21, 2025, i.e. six months after the entry into force of the amending provision. When approached by Sarafov with a motion to reopen a criminal case, the Varna Appellate Court petitioned the Constitutional Court, asking it to determine whether Sarafov was still competent to do so and whether the provision amending the Judicial System Act applies only ex nunc or also to persons who have been assigned such functions before its entry into force. The case is pending before the Constitutional Court. In early October 2025, two Supreme Court of Cassation panels refused to institute proceedings on motions entered by Sarafov for reopening of criminal cases, arguing that he does not legitimately perform the functions of prosecutor general.