Bulgarian Prosecutor’s office refered to EU Institutions about political pressure to close Specialised Courts, Specialised Prosecutor’s Offices

The leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria has sent letters to the President of the European Commission, the President of the European Parliament, the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) notifying them of the unprecedented political pressure from parliamentary parties in Bulgaria’s 45th National Assembly, expressed in proposed legislative amendments aimed at closing down the bodies of specialised justice, in particular - the Specialised Prosecutor's Office and the Appellate Specialised Prosecutor's Office. This was announced by the Prosecutor's office.

In their letter to the European institutions, the prosecutors say that if the proposed legislative changes are adopted, this "will bring the combat against crime and the work of the independent judiciary to a halt; will harm the rights of many; erase the progress made by Bulgaria under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism whereby the European Commission monitored progress in reforming the judiciary and fighting organized crime and corruption, and the country's contribution to rule of law in the EU.

The Prosecutor’s office informed the European institutions in detail about its opinion on the four draft laws amending the Judiciary System Act (JSA) and the Penal Procedure Code, which was not even considered by the Committee on Legal Affairs of the National Assembly at a sitting on 28th of April, .2021. The Bulgarian lawmakers have not taken action to discuss the expert proposal sent in October 2020 by the Prosecutor's Office on amendments to the Penal Procedure Code (PPC) in accordance with the standards of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights, the case law of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In another letter sent to the Speaker of the 45th National Assembly, Iva Miteva and to the Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Affairs, Radostin Vassilev, the leadership of the Prosecutor’s office informed them about the previously submitted opinion against the four draft laws submitted to the 45th National Assembly concerning the bodies of specialized justice.

"The envisaged amendments to the JSA and the PPC are neither legally substantiated nor in the interest of Bulgarian citizens. They do not take into account the inevitable negative consequences of the closure of the specialized court and specialised Prosecutor's office," the letter reads.

The Prosecutor’s office points out that the consideration of the proposals for legislative revisions is carried out in complete contradiction with the regulatory requirements for the legislative process. There was an infringement of Art. 18a of the Law on Normative Acts (LNA) and the principles of elaboration of drafts of normative acts under Art. 26 of the LNA, namely the principles of necessity, validity, predictability, openness, coherence, subsidiarity, proportionality and stability are disregarded. The prosecutors also say the law changes are pushed through in conditions of inexplicable "suddenness", without consultations with the public and legal entities, without any discussion with the professional and the scientific communities. "

The opinion expressed in the letters to the European institutions and the Bulgarian Parliament represents the position of the entire professional community - such opinions have been adopted by prosecutors from all appellate districts, the Association of Prosecutors in Bulgaria, the Chamber of Investigators in Bulgaria and the Prosecutors` College of the Supreme Judicial Council, the leadership of the Prosecutor’s office emphasize.