site.btaOpposition Criticizes SJC for Keeping Borislav Sarafov as Acting Prosecutor General Indefinitely

Borislav Sarafov has effectively been made a "permanent acting Prosecutor General" by the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS), MP Nadezhda Yordanova of Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) told journalists in Parliament.

The Prosecutors Chamber said it would not appoint a new acting Prosecutor General after a debate during Wednesday’s session. Under recent amendments to the Judicial System Act, Parliament stipulated that when the term of a Prosecutor General or the heads of the Supreme Court of Cassation or the Supreme Administrative Court ends prematurely or expires, a temporary replacement may be appointed for no longer than six months regardless of whether there were interruptions during the tenure.

Yordanova sharply criticized the decision, accusing the SJC of "blatantly and arrogantly refusing to comply with the Judicial System Act." She added: "This is full political servicing of those in power and of Sarafov himself."

Highlighting serious concerns about Sarafov’s conduct, Yordanova said the CC-DB coalition would demand a public review of his work. She announced plans to request a hearing in the parliamentary legal affairs committee to evaluate the prosecution's performance, especially regarding major corruption scandals. 

Resetting Borislav Sarafov’s mandate as Acting Prosecutor General is unacceptable and constitutes a serious breach of judicial independence, said CC-DB MP Lyuben Ivanov. "There should never be perpetual figures holding the position of Prosecutor General," he said, criticizing the SJC's decision not to appoint a new acting chief prosecutor.

Fellow CC-DB MP Atanas Slavov, speaking on the new Rule of Law report by the European Commission, noted that Bulgaria shows “a lack of progress in key areas” over the past year.

The report includes several recommendations for Bulgaria. According to the Commission, only limited progress has been made on last year’s calls to strengthen integrity among high-ranking officials. Some improvement has been observed in transparency regarding the allocation of state-funded advertising, but significant gaps remain.

Following the blocking of proposed constitutional amendments, there has been no progress on key judicial reform issues for an entire year, said Slavov.

"There has been no movement on critical matters such as depoliticizing the appointment of the Supreme Judicial Council and its Inspectorate, restructuring the SJC, and reforming the system of secondments for magistrates. The Bulgarian state has been at a standstill," Slavov said.

He announced that CC-DB will introduce new legislative proposals aimed at tackling these long-standing problems in the justice system.