Parliament extends the deadline for proposals on the Judiciary Act

The National Assembly voted to extend the deadline for submitting written proposals between the first and second reading of the amendments to the Judiciary Act. The decision was adopted by an overwhelming majority of 168 votes in favor.

The original 7-day period was extended by two weeks, bringing the total time for proposals to three weeks.

Arguments for the extension

The proposal, submitted by Yanka Tyankova of "Progressive Bulgaria", was prompted by the needs of the judiciary:

  • Opinions of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) and the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC): Representatives of the supreme courts indicated that time is needed to convene a Plenum in order to prepare high-quality positions.
  • Deadlines: At least 10 days are needed just for the administrative procedures for preparing these opinions.

Debates in the plenary hall

Not all political forces supported the longer deadline:

  • Petar Petrov ("Vazrazhdane"): Insisted on shortening the deadline to the minimum of 3 days, arguing the need for an urgent election of members of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
  • Velislav Velichkov ("We Continue the Change"): Proposed a compromise option of a total of two weeks, considering it fully sufficient for all interested parties.

Ultimately, following clarifications by Kostadin Angelov (GERB-SDS) regarding the procedural rules for voting on multiple proposals, the majority supported Yanka Tyankova's proposal.