site.btaUPDATED Sarafov Abandons Supreme Administrative Court Appeal over Terminated Prosecutor General Election Procedure

On November 28, Bulgaria's acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov withdrew his appeal before the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) in connection with the termination of a procedure for the election of a prosecutor general by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Plenum, a three-judge panel of SAC ruled on December 1. The Court therefore set aside the appeal, which was lodged in early February 2025, and terminated the case.

The SAC ruling, which is final, does not cite Sarafov's reasons for abandoning his appeal but merely states that the appellant is withdrawing in whole the contestation of the SJC Plenum decision at issue.

The procedure for the election of a prosecutor general was terminated on January 23, 2025, two days after Parliament enacted legislative amendments barring JSC members whose term in office has expired from nominating and voting in the election of a prosecutor general. Sarafov was the only nominee for the office, nominated by three members of the JSC Prosecutors Chamber on October 10, 2024.

SAC then stayed the proceedings in the case and, acting on Sarafov’s motion, on April 7 took the matter to the Constitutional Court, arguing that these restrictive provisions in the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act to Amend and Supplement the Judicial System Act are unconstitutional because they prevent the SJC from fully exercising its powers and making decisions.

The SAC ruling has been transmitted to the Constitutional Court, which will most probably dismiss its own case for lack of cause.