site.btaBulgaria Faces Serious Rule of Law Crisis over Acting Prosecutor General's Tenure, Says Justice Minister

Bulgaria is facing a serious rule of law crisis stemming from the fact that the acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov is effectively holding office in violation of the law, caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov said on Thursday. He was speaking at the opening of a sitting of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), which he convened with a single item on the agenda - the designation of a temporary acting Prosecutor General.

Yankulov said this position is also shared by numerous panels of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) and the appellate courts. A situation in which judges do not recognize the Prosecutor General is intolerable in a State governed by the rule of law, the Minister said.

According to him, the prosecution service as an institution is highly dependent on the figure of the Prosecutor General, and when there is a problem related to that office, it affects not only the prosecution service but the entire judicial system. He recalled that a permanent office holder cannot be elected by the current composition of the SJC due to its expired mandate.

“When Sarafov began performing the functions, he made two key commitments. One was to pull the prosecution service out of the mire of politics. In my view, the months that followed did not deliver such a result. The second key commitment, made before the Plenum, was to dismantle the network of parallel justice. Again, in the months that followed – absolutely nothing. In the current situation, the only adequate action is to convene the Plenum of the SJC,” Yankulov said.

After the Minister’s statement, as none of those present at the meeting wished to take the floor, Judges’ Chamber member Atanaska Disheva said that since there were no comments, the Minister should propose by name who should assume the post of acting Prosecutor General and a vote should be held.

Ognyan Damyanov of the Prosecutors Chamber then took the floor and presented a chronology of the election of Sarafov as acting Prosecutor General. He said that it should be discussed whether the Plenum of the SJC is competent to rule on the matter. In his view, the competent body to designate an acting Prosecutor General is the Prosecutors Chamber.

Disheva said that whenever the question has arisen as to which body is competent to appoint an acting Prosecutor General and the Chairs of the Supreme Administrative Court  and SCC, she has consistently maintained that this authority lies with the Plenum of the SJC.

Veronika Imova of the Judges Chamber of the SJC commented that her colleagues are the ones entitled to elect an acting administrative head. She added that speaking against the judicial system and justice diverts public attention from major processes such as prices and inflation. According to her, the Justice Minister cannot nominate a person for acting Prosecutor General, but only for a permanent appointment.

Earlier on Thursday, citizens held a protest in front of the SJC building in Sofia, demanding the resignation of acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov. Protesters stormed the Prosecutor General's office on the fourth floor in the Palace of Justice, but were stopped by security guards. People were banging on the office door, chanting "Civic protest," "Sarafov out," and "People's court."

On Wednesday evening, citizens protested in front of the Palace of Justice with the same demand.

A controversy has emerged regarding the legitimacy of acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov's continued tenure beyond the six-month limit stipulated by recent amendments to the Judicial System Act. The law mandates that interim appointments to key judicial positions (acting Prosecutor General, acting Presidents of Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative Court) cannot exceed six months. Sarafov was appointed on June 16, 2023, and the six-month period expired on July 21, 2025, but he and the Prosecutors Chamber insist that the restriction does not apply to him as his appointment predated the legal revisions. The Supreme Court of Cassation, however, determined on October 2, 2025, that Sarafov no longer holds the authority to perform the functions of Prosecutor General, due to the expiration of the six-month period. This legal dispute has sparked political debates, with critics accusing Sarafov and the Prosecutors Chamber of disregarding the law and maintaining an unconstitutional status quo.