There will Be No New Procedure to Elect Head of Supreme Administrative Court

The Supreme Judicial Council decided that it would not announce a new procedure for election of Chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court. The nomination of Georgi Cholakov will be re-considered at the next meeting of the newly appointed SJC. This was decided by the members after two hours of discussions on 12^th of October. A week ago, on the SJC first working day, Bulgaria's President Roumen Radev returned the nomination of Georgi Cholakov for consideration by the new SJC members.

The main topic in the two-hour discussion was whether the new SJC should conclude the pending procedure or announce a new one. With 18 votes for, it was decided that Cholakov's nomination should stand.

Only three SJC members insisted that the election should be started afresh: the Chairperson of the Supreme Court of Cassation Lozan Panov and Sevdalin Mavrov and Tsvetinka Pashkunova.

Cholakov will be invited to the next SJC meeting. if he again receives 2/3 of support, the Supreme Judicial Council will offer Cholakov’s nomination to the Head of State for appointment. President Radev cannot return the proposal again. However, if Cholakov receives less than 17 votes, the election procedure will have to start again.

Georgi Cholakov was elected to be the Head of the Supreme Administrative Court at a Supreme Judicial Council sitting on 11th of September, few weeks before the end of the term of office of the old SJC. The new SJC took office on 3rd of October.

Bulgaria’s President Roumen Radev said on 4th of October he would not sign the decree for the appointment of Georgi Cholakov as Chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court. Radev commented that it was a matter of principle and returned the nomination to the new SJC, which carries new legitimacy. “I expect its nomination, in line with all legal procedures and the society’s moral expectations,” Radev said.

In previous statements, President Roumen Radev had stated that it was most logical the new Chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court to be elected by the new Supreme Judicial Council, not by the old one.