site.btaJustice Minister to Consult Legal Community, Civil Society on Criteria for Key Justice Appointments

Caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov said on Facebook he will invite representatives of the legal profession and civil society to consultations on criteria for nominating candidates to key positions in the justice system.

The idea is that professional and civil organizations should propose to the Minister candidates for senior judicial posts, after which he would use his powers to submit them to the competent appointing authorities. Yankulov added the legal profession and civil society should take a more active role in judicial governance, urging lawyers, politicians and civil society organizations to present well-reasoned positions.

Yankulov said his proposal to appoint an acting prosecutor general replacing Borislav Sarafov is the last item on the agenda of the Prosecutors Chamber meeting of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on March 11. He said the Justice Minister does not have the authority to replace the Prosecutor General, but he can raise the issue with the bodies that govern the judiciary and urge them to address the situation.

On February 26, the SJC Plenum left without consideration Yankulov's proposal that a new acting Prosecutor General be appointed, and referred the proposal to the Prosecutors Chamber as the competent body on the matter.

The revised Judicial System Act mandates that interim appointments to key judicial positions (acting Prosecutor General and 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 argue that the restriction does not apply to him as his appointment predated the legal revisions. 

"Borislav Sarafov has been in office for almost three years, and this is a temporary acting position, so it would be appropriate for someone else to take over for a period of time," Yankulov told reporters in late February.