SJC terminated the procedure for election of Prosecutor General

The Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) terminated the procedure for the election of Prosecutor General at an extraordinary session on January 23. The decision was adopted unanimously. It reflects the amendments to the Judicial System Act which entered into force yesterday.

Today's extraordinary session was convened at the request of Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev.

The amendments to the Judicial System Act were promulgated in the State Gazette on January 21.

The next procedure for the election of Prosecutor General should be conducted by newly elected members of the SJC, the Justice Minister said before the meeting. "Some politicians are talking about stopping the procedure, this is misleading and untrue. There is a difference between suspension and termination. When a procedure is suspended, it can continue. Now this procedure is terminated and with this it goes into history," Georgiev told reporters.

He highlightedt the work to save the Recovery and Resilience Plan funds as a crucial priority for the Justice Ministry.

Photos by BTA

"This is a task given to us by Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov. For me, it is not right and not normal that more than a year of disputes over the Mediation Act should be an obstacle to the introduction of a bill. This is a requirement from the European Commission. After the ruling of the Constitutional Court, which revoked a large part of the texts, disputes are ongoing between judges, representatives of the Supreme Judicial Council and experts from the Ministry of Justice. I have taken charge of the draft law because it is not normal for legal disputes to cause Bulgarian citizens to miss the opportunity for BGN 1.3 billion to enter our economy."

"A strong country is one that has an efficient justice system. Its bodies must work not ad hoc and not with regard to the individual, but in a way that guarantees the rights and legitimate interests of citizens and legal entities," Minister Georgiev told the members of the SJC.

Election of Prosecutor General postponed until Presidential decree to finalise the procedure is issued