Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee rejects presidential veto on Judiciary Act

The Legal Affairs Committee in the National Assembly on September 23 rejected the veto of President Rumen Radev and again adopted the amendments to the Judiciary Act , related to the career bonuses for members of the Supreme Judicial Council. MPs of the position socialist party, BSP for Bulgaria, voted in favour of the veto.

President Rumen Radev on September 15 vetoed a provision in the bill of amendments to the Judiciary Act, passed by MPs earlier in the month. The amendment concerns promotions for former members of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), giving the possibility for them to be promoted in the judicial system after the end of their term on the council.

According to him, the main guarantee for the independence of the court is that the appointments and promotions of magistrates should be made only on the basis of objective criteria such as qualification, skills, integrity. Radev also believes that the amendments to the Judiciary Act violate the important constitutional principle of equality and non-admission of privileges based on personal or social status.