President vetoes amendments to the Judiciary Act

President Rumen Radev on August 1 signed a decree to return to the National Assembly for further discussion the law on the amendment of the Judiciary Act, adopted on 21 July 2023, which changes the system for random selection of a judge under the prosecutor general's investigation mechanism and sets an additional six-month deadline for the election of a new Supreme Judicial Council.

Radev stresses in his reasoning that this law does not contribute to lasting and effective reforms in the justice system and that this has a direct bearing on the fight against lawlessness and impunity. On the contrary, by introducing substantial amendments to the mechanism just adopted for appointing a special prosecutor, it has been adopted to the detriment of the principles of predictability and stability of the norm-setting process.

The statutory regulation of a new term for the election of members of the Supreme Judicial Council undermines the principle of mandatoriness as a basic rule for the constitution and functioning of public authorities.

The President stresses that the first procedure for the appointment of a judge to act as prosecutor has not resulted in an appointment to the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office and the contested law does not provide a clear answer as to whether the introduction of a new selection system will further delay this process. This is a retreat from the implemented commitments that were positively assessed by the European Commission in its last Annual Report on the Rule of Law.

By referring this law back for further discussion, the Head of State is enabling the Members of Parliament to prevent the specific application of the newly established mechanism for investigating the Prosecutor General and his deputies from being obstructed for a long period of time.