Parliament rejects civil quota in SJC selection

Organizations outside of parliament will not be able to nominate candidates for members of the Supreme Judicial Council. This decision was made by the parliamentary Legal Committee, which rejected the proposal to create a so-called "civil quota".

The idea, introduced by "We Continue the Change", provided for the possibility of nominations to be made not only by the parties represented in parliament. According to MP Velislav Velichkov, the current model in practice leads to party bargaining in the selection of SJC members.

"Politics is also being transferred into the management of the judicial system, because the winner of the elections has the largest quota in the council," stated Velichkov. He further emphasized that the possibility of nominating candidates from outside the system is also missing from the judicial quota.

However, "Progressive Bulgaria" proposed an alternative text, with which the idea of a civil quota was dropped. MP Dimitar Petrov commented that, in principle, they are not against such a measure, but "now is not the right time".

The changes are part of a broader package in the Judicial System Act, through which parliament aims to accelerate the selection of a new composition of the SJC. The current council has a long-expired mandate and, according to critics, has lost public trust following a series of controversial decisions.

Several bills with similar goals have been introduced in the National Assembly, but differences among MPs remain regarding the specific texts.

The committee also adopted a restriction according to which a former Prosecutor General and chairmen of supreme courts will not be able to be elected as members of the next SJC. The motive is to avoid a situation where one person has two terms – once as a member ex officio and a second time through election.

The ban will also apply to those performing the functions of these positions within two years prior to the election. Thus, the former Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov and the Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court Georgi Cholakov remain excluded from the possible candidates.

The legal changes are yet to be reviewed and voted on at second reading in the plenary hall.