site.btaCC-DB Says Judiciary Crisis Could Be Solved by Electing New Supreme Judicial Council under New Rules

Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) told the media on Friday that a new Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) elected under new rules would be a lasting solution to the judiciary crisis.

MPs of the largest opposition group in Parliament commented on Thursday's ruling of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) that the six-month term during which Borislav Sarafov could serve as acting Prosecutor General had expired on July 21, 2025. Based on this, the judges refused to initiate proceedings on requests filed by Sarafov for the resumption of criminal proceedings.

Democrats for Strong Bulgaria Chairman Atanas Atanassov, who is also DB Co-chairman, said that following the ruling regarding Sarafov, the judicial system was in a crisis. In this connection, CC-DB has drafted a bill and is also suggesting steps towards ending the crisis.

Bozhidar Bozhanov, Co-chairman of Yes, Bulgaria, part of DB, said the Justice Minister should call the SJC Plenum. Another possible step would be to challenge the decision of the SJC Prosecutors Chamber, which has decided that Sarafov will serve as acting Prosecutor General after July 21. "We have proposed amendments to the Judicial System Act to guarantee that the SJC's election will be transparent and its members will not be dependent; there must not be a quota of [MRF-New Beginning leader Delyan] Peevski in that Council," said Bozhanov.

Continue the Change Chairman Assen Vassilev said the opinion of the Supreme Court of Cassation could leave prosecutors without salaries and bonuses. Every salary order signed by Sarafov after July 21 is illegal, he said. "We are alerting the State Financial Inspection Agency, the Sofia City Prosecution Office, and the ad hoc prosecutor [who has powers to investigate the Prosecutor General and his deputies] because now Sarafov is in the role of a vagrant spending BGN 1 billion a year for the prosecution service." A supreme court in Bulgaria has said that since July, there is no acting Prosecutor General, and Sarafov's financial orders cannot be lawful, said Vassilev.