Constitutional Court declares most constitutional changes as invalid

The Constitutional Court on July 26 declared unconstitutional as "invalid" most of the amendments to the Constitution in the chapter "Judiciary".

According to the court, unconstitutional are the texts that divide the Supreme Judicial Council into two separate councils, limit the powers of the Prosecutor General and introduce a mechanism for investigating the chief prosecutor. This effectively abolishes he entire judicial reform.

The amendments that change the procedure for appointing a caretaker government remain in force. The President will have to choose a caretaker prime minister from a list of persons holding senior public posts, and the candidate for caretaker prime minister will propose the composition of the caretaker cabinet.

The possibility of electing candidates who have dual citizenship - Bulgarian and of another country - as MPs remains.

The case was instituted on the basis of two petitions - one by Bulgaria’s President and another one by 48 MPs from the 49th Parliament, challenging the constitutionality of the amendments to the Constitution introduced by the Law on Amendments and Additions to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria, adopted on December 20, 2023.