The new chief prosecutor should definitely not be an authoritarian figure, judge Assoc Prof Dr Mihail Malchev told a hearing of parliament's legal affairs committee. Malchev is a candidate for member of the Supreme Judicial Council's (SJC) judges' panel, under parliament's quota.

Malchev said the SJC must have a clear profile of the new chief prosecutor ready, or the public will not forgive it. He proposed allowing nominations from citizens, as in the current vote in parliament for SJC members. The justice minister should also put forward a candidate so there is a contest, he said.

Malchev is a judge at the Sofia Court of Appeal and has worked as an administrative judge. Progressive Bulgaria nominated him. His hearing was on the second day of hearings for SJC candidates under the parliamentary quota.

He said he is standing to unite, not to divide. He also wants to show judges that they must take part in judicial reform. In his view, the judicial system is in a very bad state, the crisis is deepening and trust in it is falling. The new SJC will not solve the problems by staying silent or by appearing in the media every day, Malchev said. He said it needs criteria nobody can get around, uniform standards, clear rules, steady work and decisions that deliver results.

Progressive Bulgaria asked him about judges' workloads. Malchev replied that delayed justice means no access to justice. So there must be one workload standard and a system to measure it, he said. Moving judges between courts and giving help with staff and funds also help, he added.

GERB-SDS asked about competitions. The candidate said they must be adequate, predictable, timely and have a set deadline. He said the judges' panel uses gaps in the law as an excuse, and there are also problems in how the competition boards are formed. Malchev said the feeling that competitions are decided in advance must disappear.

Democratic Bulgaria and We Continue the Change asked about his secondments. He sees them as a professional test and sees no contradiction in his conduct. Malchev told We Continue the Change he is proud of his career and that the secondments came from his excellent reputation. He said there should be uniform rules for secondments, with a time limit.

He called influence groups in the judiciary a disgusting phenomenon and said he has had no contact with them.

Vazrazhdane asked about delayed cases. Malchev said the problem is serious and the SJC relies on the extra effort of judges and court staff. Judges with delayed cases now lack the support they need, he said. He said the system should raise a warning in time, without waiting for a judge to get bogged down in cases.

MPs from the DPS asked no questions, as with all earlier candidates.

The committee will hear a total of 20 candidates for the SJC under the parliamentary quota. The hearings run from 2 to 6 November and are streamed live on the National Assembly website and on BTA's page.