site.bta Judges Association Wants Case Allocation Software Replaced Immediately

Judges Association Wants Case Allocation Software Replaced Immediately

Sofia, December 12 (BTA) - The Bulgarian Judges Association
(BJA) wants the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) to immediately
replace the Law Choice random case allocation software and to
find the optimum temporary solution until a new software is
designed transparently by competent independent specialists.

"The BJA again urges the SJC to meet the public expectations,"
the largest organization of judges said in a letter to the SJC.

The judges also insist on a clarification about the
irregularities in the allocation of cases at the Sofia City
Court, which pose a threat to the court's independence and raise
 doubts about influence peddling.  

Irregularities in the operation of the Sofia City  Court's
Commercial Division were reported in the bankruptcy case of the
Domaine Menada  Winery and Belvedere Distribution, among others.
 They became public last week after a bTV interview in which
French Ambassador Xavier Lapeyre de Cabanes blamed judge 
Roumyana Chenalova of malpractice in the bankruptcy case against
 Belvedere subsidiaries. The Ambassador also expressed doubts 
about the manner in which the case was allocated to Chenalova.

The BJA said: "Amid dangerously rising distrust of the
administrative leadership of the court, if the honest judges'
professional reputation is to be defended, the SJC must offer
convincing and exhaustive explanations of the measures it will
take to assume responsibility for the eroded reputation of the
judiciary and to create effective guarantees that dubious
practices will stop immediately."

The BJA supports all judges who do not want to be tacit
participants in the continuing discrediting of the court as an
institution.

Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov told bTV on Friday that the
Council of Ministers is mulling designing a reliable software
for case allocation and donating it to the judiciary.

This will be done unless the SJC starts developing protected
software as soon as possible, said Ivanov. The problem is that
even the current procurement order does not guarantee that the
new case allocation software will be reliable, he said,
apparently referring to several attempts to improve the software
 used now.

On the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day, which
takes place each year on December 9, the US Embassy's Charges
d'Affaires Bruce Berton stated: "Corruption is a problem
everywhere, including in the United States, as any number of
news headlines will tell you.  Unfortunately in Bulgaria I fear
it has reached a crisis level that affects each and every one of
 us in some way.  What is needed next is the political will, not
 to mention professional capacity, to make these initiatives and
 reforms happen."