Minister of Justice refuses to appear for a hearing in the anti-corruption commission

The Minister of Justice, Nadezhda Yordanova, on February 7, sent a letter to the anti-corruption commission, refusing to appear in response to the letter of invitation from the commission for a hearing.

She justified her decision by saying that "there is no legally justified reason for this".

"The Minister of Justice, within the scope of his/her powers, interacts with all authorities within the framework of the law, refers and assists them when there are legally-provided grounds for this," Minister Yordanova wrote in her response.

The motive for summoning me is a reference to the norm of Article 41 of the Regulations on the Structure and Activities of the anti-corruption commission. In view of the fact that it is contained in a by-law which provides for procedural powers of the authorities, within the meaning of Article 16, paragraph 2 of the Law on Combating Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property, to summon in official premises, it is null and void and should not give rise to legal effect.

The delegation of Article 23 of the anti-corruption law does not include and objectively cannot include primary regulation of legal relations which addresses are third parties other than the employees of the anti-corruption commission, therefore it is unlawful," the letter clarifies.

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The Anti-Corruption Commission earlier on February 7 invited Justice Minister Nadezhda Yordanova for a hearing tomorrow - February 8. The commission's website makes it clear that the reason for this is a probe into the existence of signals against the Chief Prosecutor, Ivan Geshev, in the Justice Ministry.

The Commission for Combating Corruption and Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Assets (CCCIPA) recalled that the probe began on 1 January after a referral from statements in the media by the Minister of Justice.

Certified copies of the reports and other information were requested from Minister Yordanova.

To date, the requested materials have not been sent by the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, to clarify the facts of the statements made by her in the media, the anti-corruption commission has invited Yordanova.

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