'We Continue the Change' Nominates 7 Candidates for the Supreme Judicial Council

The parliamentary group of We Continue the Change has nominated seven candidates for membership of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), citing their high professional and moral qualities. The group says all of them have had the courage to speak openly about problems within the judicial system, while some have also had the opportunity to work towards reforming the system as ministers and deputy ministers. Five of the nominees have been put forward by professional organisations and civil society groups, the formation said.

Andrey Yankulov for Member of the Prosecutors' College of the Supreme Judicial Council

Andrey Yankulov is a lawyer with more than 20 years of legal experience. He began his career as a junior prosecutor and prosecutor at the Sofia District Prosecutor’s Office, and later worked at the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office (2017–2020), where he dealt with international co-operation and the enforcement of sentences. He has held key positions in the executive branch, including Deputy Minister of the Interior and Deputy Minister of Justice, and in 2026 served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice in the caretaker government. After leaving the judiciary, he practised as a criminal defence lawyer and worked as a senior legal expert at the Anti-Corruption Fund Foundation (2020–2026), where he co-authored its annual reports monitoring high-level corruption. According to the assessment of the leading civil society organisations that nominated him, he has demonstrated independence in defending his views on reforming the judicial system. His combined experience as a prosecutor, lawyer, head of a government institution and civil society expert gives him a broad perspective on the judicial system. His candidacy has been nominated by seven leading civil society organisations working in the field of the rule of law.

Prof. Dr. Veselin Vuchkov for Member of the Prosecutors' College of the Supreme Judicial Council

Prof Dr Veselin Vuchkov has 32 years of legal experience. He began his career as an investigator before moving into academia, progressing through the positions of assistant, associate professor and professor of criminal procedure at the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior, and later at New Bulgarian University and South-West University “Neofit Rilski”. In 2003, he defended his doctoral dissertation, and since 2016 he has been a professor of criminal procedure.

From 2009 to 2013, he was Deputy Minister of the Interior. Under his leadership, key legislative reforms were introduced, including standards for the proportionate use of force and firearms by police officers, expanded police powers to carry out investigative actions, and access for notaries to an identity database as part of efforts to combat property fraud. He demonstrated his independence by resigning as Minister of the Interior in March 2015 because of disagreements with the prime minister. His candidacy has been nominated by the Union of Lawyers in Bulgaria, the country’s largest legal non-governmental organisation.

Tanya Radulovska-Madamzhieva for Member of the Judges' College of the Supreme Judicial Council

Tanya Radulovska-Madamzhieva graduated in law from Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski” with distinction and has around 23 years of legal experience. Her career has included positions as a junior expert at the Ministry of Transport, a legal expert at the Financial Supervision Commission and a junior judge at the Sofia City Court. From 2007 to 2018, she was a judge at the Sofia District Court, specialising in juvenile justice, where she received an overall “Very Good” assessment, permanent tenure and the rank of judge at the Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative Court.

From 2012 to 2014, she was chair of the Governing Board of the Union of Judges in Bulgaria, and in 2015 she was elected to a commission responsible for the appointment of judges to district courts. From March to May 2026, she was Deputy Minister of Justice, where she led the development of a concept for protecting magistrates from pressure and threats. She has demonstrated consistent independence, publicly opposing political pressure on the judiciary, including by taking part in a 2015 protest in defence of constitutional guarantees for judicial independence.

She combines experience as a rank-and-file judge, head of a professional organisation, lawyer and representative of the executive branch, giving her a broad perspective on the functioning of the judicial system. She currently works as a lawyer. Her candidacy has been nominated by seven leading civil society organisations working in the field of the rule of law.

Evgeni Staykov for Member of the Judges' College of the Supreme Judicial Council

Evgeniy Staykov was President of the Sofia City Court from 1994 to 1998. He headed the Sofia Court of Appeal as its president for 11 years. From 2003 to 2007, he was a member of the Supreme Judicial Council, elected from the judges’ quota.

After leaving the judiciary, he worked as a lawyer until 2015, when he joined the Commercial College of the Supreme Court of Cassation after winning an external competition. From March 2022 until his retirement in 2026, he was Deputy President of the Supreme Court of Cassation and head of its Commercial College.

He is recognised for his contribution to consolidating the college’s work and resolving problems concerning the timely scheduling of cases, for which he received distinctions upon his retirement. He also has experience as a member of the Presidium and as an arbitrator at the Arbitration Court of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

His professional career, management experience, expertise and proven independence make him a candidate with the qualities required for membership of the Supreme Judicial Council. His candidacy for the Judicial College of the SJC was put forward by the Bulgarian Association for European Law and supported by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Svetlozar Georgiev for Member of the Judges' College of the SJC

Svetlozar Georgiev has been a judge since 1995 and has extensive legal experience. He has served as president of the Military Court in Varna and as deputy president of both the District Court and the Regional Court in Varna. He currently serves in the Criminal Division of the Varna Regional Court, where he has heard high-profile cases, including one involving Volya party leader Veselin Mareshki.

In 2017, he was charged with exerting pressure on a prosecutor, but within a year he was acquitted at all three levels of the judiciary. Following his acquittal, he successfully sued the prosecution and received compensation of more than BGN 90,000 for the damage he suffered as a result of the unfounded criminal proceedings. His case was publicly discussed as an example of institutional pressure on an independent magistrate, supporting assessments of his professional independence and willingness to defend his rights through lawful means.

His candidacy was nominated by the “Initiative for Unity” Association.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vasil Pandov for Member of the Judges' College of the Supreme Judicial Council

Assoc Prof Dr Vasil Pandov graduated from the Faculty of Law at Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski” in 2002 and completed a specialisation at the University of Cambridge. He is currently an associate professor of private international law at Sofia University’s Faculty of Law, where he teaches subjects including international commercial arbitration, international transport law and consular functions.

He has served as chair of the Supervisory Board of the National Health Insurance Fund and as chief of staff to the Minister of Health. He has been a member of parliament in several National Assemblies, with his principal public causes focusing on accessible healthcare and the protection of fundamental rights.

His candidacy for membership of the SJC from the National Assembly quota has been put forward by We Continue the Change.

Emil Ivanov Dechev for Member of the Prosecutors' College of the Supreme Judicial Council

Emil Dechev was born on 5 May 1970. He began his career as an investigator and subsequently became a criminal judge at the Pleven District Court. He later served as a criminal judge at the Sofia City Court. He has almost 30 years of legal experience, most of it in criminal justice.

In 2022, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Justice in Kiril Petkov’s government. He remained in the post under caretaker Justice Minister Krum Zarkov and was again Deputy Minister of Justice from 2023 to 2024. During Andrey Gyurov’s caretaker government, he served as Minister of the Interior.

Dechev combines many years of experience as a criminal judge with experience in the executive branch, giving him a broad institutional perspective. His public positions on shortcomings in the judicial system, as well as in the Ministry of the Interior – institutions that are closely linked in the context of criminal prosecution – are well known. Emil Dechev has repeatedly shown that he is not afraid to express his views on issues of significance to society.

His candidacy for membership of the SJC from the National Assembly quota has been put forward by We Continue the Change.