Justice Minister: Proposed Constitutional Amendments Pursue Fair Justice, Independent Court

UPDATED Justice Minister: Proposed Constitutional Amendments Pursue Fair Justice, Independent Court

Nikolay Zabov

Justice Minister Atanas Slavov (BTA Photo)

Sofia,

06.10.2023 15:52 | UPDATED 06.10.2023 15:58

(BTA)

Minister of Justice Atanas Slavov said here on Friday that the country is facing an extremely important debate about its future. The Minister, who was in Parliament for the debate to amend and supplement Bulgaria's constitution, added that the discussion will show whether Bulgaria is a European and lawful state, whether its chosen form of government is democracy or a "hybrid regime between democracy and authoritarianism".

Slavov said that key features of the European rule of law are fair justice and an independent court. In his words, these are among the main objectives of the proposed constitutional amendments. The other feature of the European rule of law is that people with a guilty sentence are punished fairly. They are indicted beforehand, which requires an independent, professional, responsible prosecution service, the Minister noted.

The Justice Minister pointed out that the first objective, an independent and fair court, in the draft bill can be achieved through structural changes to the Supreme Judicial Council, with a majority of the judicial quota, of judges elected by judges and with a more limited parliamentary quota. The opposite approach can be implemented to achieve accountability and responsibility of the prosecution service. Slavov described the current prosecution service as a remnant of a previous regime. "To achieve this accountability of the prosecution service and the prosecutor general, there must be increased public participation in the prosecutorial council as proposed," the Minister said.

He said: "We are arguing over the means - how to achieve an independent and fair court, how to achieve an accountable and responsible prosecution service, how to ensure the third main goal - better protection of citizens' rights".

Earlier on Friday, the Justice Ministry said that the Council of Europe's European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) will rule on the proposed changes to the Basic Law by 166 MPs during its 136th plenary sitting. The matter will be discussed at the Commission's meeting on Saturday.

Slavov requested the Commission's opinion in early August, asking for an urgent opinion on the project at its earliest stage. In September, Venice Commission rapporteurs were in Sofia for meetings with the justice minister, MPs, and representatives of the presidency and the judiciary.

Slavov and Deputy Justice Minister Emil Dechev are scheduled to attend the meeting on Saturday. Slavov has been invited to make a brief statement.

/KK/