Election of Prosecutor General postponed until Presidential decree to finalise the procedure is issued

With 18 votes in favour, the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on January 16 postponed the election of the Prosecutor General.

The Supreme Judicial Council postponed the election of the Prosecutor General in what was a historically brief meeting. The council was expected to either elect a new Prosecutor General or at least hear the candidate, after which the members would decide whether or not to appoint Borislav Sarafov to the position. Early in the meeting, the Prosecutors' College introduced a proposal to postpone the hearing, citing the changes to the Judicial System Act passed by the Parliament the previous day (January 15). According to these changes, members of the SJC whose terms of office have expired cannot elect or dismiss the Prosecutor General or the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) and the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC).

"The law has not yet come into effect, but I consider it inappropriate to proceed with the procedure, and I propose that this item be postponed," stated Georgi Kuzmanov, a member of the SJC and the Prosecutors' College.

"As of now, there is no published law, I do not know when it will be released, nor whether there will be a special issue of the State Gazette. I will put Kuzmanov's proposal to a vote," said Boyan Magdalinchev, representative of the SJC.

"I believe that today we cannot proceed with the hearing if the law... the procedure..." commented Atanaska Dipeva, a member of the SJC.

"I propose that we suggest to the chairperson that, after the law's publication, a sitting of the SJC be convened to terminate the procedure," said Tsvetinka Pashkunova, an SJC member from the Judges' College.

Thus, with full agreement and without debate on the merits, the SCC decided by 18 votes in favour to postpone the election of the Prosecutor General. The meeting was held under extremely heightened security measures as the civil association "Boets" organised a protest in front of the SJC building against the election of Borislav Sarafov. Georgi Georgiev even stated that he would submit to the SJC documents detailing the offences that Sarafov had committed in connection with the "8 Dwarfs" case. This was the reason for the quarrels between Georgiev and the police who were guarding the area and not allowing Georgiev to enter the council's building.

"This is a small victory, although for us, the real victory would be an investigation into all the crimes that have been uncovered, and subsequently an indictment against the Chief Prosecutor, with the hope that he will be convicted. Today's event was incredible, with 500-600 police officers mobilised against the protest," commented Atanas Sharkov.

"There is simply no way that a corrupt and compromised Chief Prosecutor can be accepted with a clear conscience."

Was it easy to get here?

"No, no, I had to lie to the police, saying I was just passing by, and sneak along the sidewalk," said Miroslav Vasilev.

As soon as the election of the Prosecutor General was postponed, the protesters dispersed.

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The Parliament on January 15 conclusively adopted amendments to the Judicial System Act to terminate the current procedure for the election of Prosecutor General. The sole candidate for the position is acting Prosecutor General, Borislav Sarafov.

The MPs approved that an ongoing procedure for the appointment of a Prosecutor General shall be suspended if, by the time this law is adopted, no presidential decree has been issued.

Parliament approved that a magistrate cannot serve as acting Prosecutor General or as the head of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court for more than six months.

In the event of the early termination or expiration of the term of office of the Prosecutor General, the president of the Supreme Court of Cassation, or the president of the Supreme Administrative Court, a magistrate will be appointed to temporarily assume the respective functions for a period not exceeding six months, regardless of any interruptions.

MPs rejected proposals that would prevent an acting Prosecutor General or the heads of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court from running for the permanent position.

Parliament decided that only members of the Supreme Judicial Council whose mandates have not expired may vote in the election of the Prosecutor General, as well as the heads of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court.