"Lex.bg": Legal Proceedings Continue Over Election of BNT Director General

Court cases concerning the appointment of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) general director are ongoing, legal news site Lex.bg said on February 17.

The article follows the 13 February decision of the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), which overturned the ruling of the Administrative Court – Sofia District that had halted the announcement of a new procedure to elect the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) director general by the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) on 15 July 2025.

Leading experts consulted by Lex note that, despite the SAC ruling, the procedure for appointing a new BNT director cannot yet proceed. They cite the fact that both the Administrative Court – Sofia District and the Supreme Administrative Court previously granted the request of BNT director general, Emil Koshlukov, to unconditionally suspend all CEM actions related to the new competition. A first-instance court ruling interpreting this matter was issued on 23 January this year.

The Administrative Court – Sofia District panel concluded that Koshlukov’s request for interpretation was justified and ruled that all CEM actions connected to the second appointment procedure should be unconditionally halted.

According to Lex, the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) has filed an appeal against the interpretation ruling, however, the case has not yet been referred to the cassation instance. In this context, continuing the procedure for selecting the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) general director could be interpreted as a violation of the court act and might provide grounds to challenge the final decision in the process.

Lex recalls that the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) announced the procedure to elect a new Bulgarian National Television (BNT) general director in mid-2025, even though the previous procedure from 2022 has not yet concluded. The site highlights that having two pending procedures for the same appointment is legally impermissible.

In addition, the earlier 2022 procedure remains subject to ongoing litigation before the administrative court, with no ruling issued to date.