site.btaJustice Minister on Supreme Court of Cassation's Questioning Acting Prosecutor General's Legitimacy

Commenting on the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) refusal to initiate proceedings on requests filed by the acting Prosecutor General, Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev told reporters here on Friday that it is in the interest of the State to have an indisputable institutional framework.

Georgiev added: "This is achieved through rules and laws that are observed by everyone, especially the Minister of Justice, representatives of the judiciary, and Bulgarian MPs, whether they are politicians or not." According to the Minister, the interpretations of the powers of the acting prosecutor general given by the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in two of its orders are subject to review, and a minister cannot intervene in pending proceedings within the scope of their powers.

Georgiev criticized the MPs who sabotaged Parliament's sitting, when Parliament had on its agenda opening the procedure for electing members of the SJC. He added: "The government of the Republic of Bulgaria has a minister of justice. The judicial system, which is independent and not part of the executive branch, has its own government—the SJC. In it, the Minister of Justice does not even have the right to vote." The Minister stated that a solution to the situation should be reached in compliance with the law.

Asked whether it is time for a new SJC, given that the current one's term has expired, Georgiev replied that for this to happen, there would need to be political consensus, which does not exist on the key issues.

When asked whether there were grounds for convening a plenary session of the SJC, so that the two chambers could discuss and issue a statement on the unprecedented situation, Georgiev said that he convenes such a plenary session every two weeks. He added: "Let us wait for the decision of the Judges’ College, because it is due next week, and then we will be able to assess the situation based on all the facts."