MORE PROTESTS IN RELATION TO THE JUDICIAL REFORM

Groups of protesters and counter-protesters met Bulgaria’s Chief Prosecutor and Justice Minister in front of the building the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) in Sofia on 16th of July. This time the protesters demanded resignations in the SJC. The Chief Prosecutor, Sotir Tsatsarov, said he would not bow to pressure by resigning. The Justice Minister, Hristo Ivanov, asked for patience so he could complete his undertakings.

The protesters initially announced they would be outside the building where SJC held its meetings, but another group of protesters arrived later. They were from the organization “Plan B”, which several days ago demanded the resignation of the Justice Minister and were supportive of the Chief Prosecutor.

The protests went on for a little more than an hour and not many people attended.

Upon entering the building, the Justice Minister and the Chief Prosecutor were stopped by protesters and talked with them. The Chief Prosecutor said he would not resign under pressure from the street. He admitted there were problems in the prosecutor’s office as well as in the judicial system and added that an efficient investigation could be conducted with an efficient police and an efficient State Agency for National Security, which according to him also had problems.

Regarding the reform, Tsatsarov said that more expertise was required and in his opinion, good ideas sometimes got swallowed up by populist aspirations.

Hristo Ivanov, Minister of Justice, asked all the protesters, for and against him, to give the institutions time to complete their work. The step, which the National Assembly is about to take is the first of many and there is lots more work to be done, but let the institutions take this step in a calm environment, Hristov noted.

He also said that him and the Chief Prosecutor had consent on the direction of the reforms.

On 14th of July, a group of protesters gathered in front of the Palace of Justice in Sofia to press their demands for judicial reform and the resignation of the Chief Prosecutor, Sotir Tsatsarov.Separate from the protest, there was a “counter-protest”, demanding the resignation of the Justice Minister Ivanov.