Anyone involved in influence networks in the courts should have their career progress monitored, Prof. Ekaterina Slavkova told a hearing of the parliamentary legal affairs committee. She is a candidate for the prosecutors' college of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), in the seat chosen by parliament.
Today was the third day of hearings. In all, 20 people will appear before the committee between 2 and 6 November. The sessions are streamed live on the websites of parliament and the BTA news agency.
Where it began: Legal affairs committee hears first four candidates for Supreme Judicial Council from parliament's quota
"Progressive Bulgaria" nominated Slavkova, taking up an idea from the association "Initiative Unity". She graduated in law from Sofia University in 2000 and has trained in the administration of justice, public administration, international law and international relations, as well as "Society and Law in Germany". She has taught at Sofia University, Plovdiv University and the University of National and World Economy (UNWE). In 2004-2005 she was an adviser to deputy justice minister Daniela Atanasova. From November 2013 to May 2016 she was chief expert assistant in the legal affairs committee of the 42nd and 43rd National Assembly. She has sat on many working groups.
"The judicial system is in a very serious institutional crisis," Slavkova said. She said one cause is the widespread conflict between magistrates, and that in recent months the Supreme Court of Cassation and the prosecutor general have clashed as never before. She does not approve of how the prosecutors' college reacts under pressure and wants much more detailed rules. There can be no justice if pressure from institutions or from the street is tolerated, the candidate said.
Slavkova, a habilitated academic, has taken part in SJC competitions and sees problems in how magistrates are picked. She said that in recent years there have been worrying signs in the competitions for junior prosecutors and judges. "It is unacceptable for the test cases to leak before the exam," she said. She suggested that one group of people should write the cases and another should give them to the candidates. She backs the competitions because they select the best people.
Asked by "Progressive Bulgaria", Slavkova said a single state exam with a draw could make the criteria more uniform for the marks that count towards the scores of future magistrates. She herself would not back the idea. The problem, she said, is that exams are held in different places with different cases.
She told GERB-SDS that detention in custody is overused. She told "Democratic Bulgaria" that candidates for prosecutor with a doctorate should not get an advantage, because a doctorate is now very easy to get. The prosecutor general should not interfere in the work of lower prosecutors' offices, she told "We Continue the Change".
Asked by "Revival" about self-restraint for SJC members, Slavkova said everyone must be very careful about their contacts so as not to raise doubts.