European Commission: Bulgaria must radically reform its judicial system

The Bulgarian judicial system must be reformed radically by drafting and implementing of reforms for the Supreme Judicial Council and the Prosecution, stipulates the interim technical report of the European Commission (EC) concerning Bulgaria under the cooperation and verification mechanism, which covers a period of six months and was presented today in Brussels. The document states that the reforms of the terms and conditions and procedures for the election of SJC panel must be quickly specified. Otherwise, they cannot be implemented before the end of the mandate of the current Council in the autumn of 2012.

"The great number of appointments of senior magistrates by the Supreme Judicial Council and the Parliament raised many questions about their objectivity, transparency and consistency of the assessment on the qualities and ethical behavior of the candidates," reads the document. According to the EC, over the recent months, the confidence in the Supreme Judicial Council has been "placed under question".

Criticism was also delivered to the investigations against the organised crime. "Further improvement of the investigation practice in the form of proper investigative techniques and evidence collection should be acgieved via the application of higher professionalism in police raids, shorter periods of investigation and issuance of final convictions," stipulates also the EC report.

Besides, the drafting of the new Bill on Forfeiture of Assets acquired from Criminal Activity is mentioned, but according to the EC, its recommendation for extending the powers for verifying the assets of senior officials and politicians seems to be neglected.

The EC notes that the option of granting donations to the benefit of the police is limited, but adds that "this practice still raises questions about its accountability and financial transparency, particularly regarding the risk of circumvention of public procurement rules."

The European Commission, however, deliveres a positive assessment on the setting up of specialised courts and prosecution, as well as on the decisions of the Commission for Establishing of Property acquired from Criminal Activity, confirming the forfeiture of nearly BGN 5 mln.

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