Lozan Panov, Chairman of the Administrative Court, Sofia City: Every colleague who performs well would not commit himself to the Specialised Court

- Mr. Panov, are you familiar with the Monitoring Report of the European Commission. Did you read it in detail as the Prime Minister recommended?
- Of course, not only I but all my colleagues at the Administrative Court, Sofia City read the report. We read it in detail as suggested by the PM. Besides, I also reviewed the opinions of the various political forces on the report. Some say that the report is very favourable for Bulgaria, while others maintain that it is extremely negative and the rest assert that it is moderate. In my opinion, it concerns mainly the general courts and criminal judges. In the field of administrative law, even the previous reports assessed positively Bulgaria in terms of the short-term hearing of cases, as well as on the application of EU legislative standards.

- The EC report noted that the Bulgarian judicial practice focuses primarily on the procedure rather than on the decision-making process. Do you agree with this opinion?
- In my personal opinion, if the judges consider more the procedure and formalise the law, this will undoubtedly lead to a deterioration in the administration of justice. The procedural rules themselves are sufficiently formal in order for additional formalities to be introduced. More formal procedures affect the criminal proceedings because there the legislator has provided more serious guarantees for the protection of the rights of the defendant. While the administrative process is aimed at faster development. That is why state fees are lower. Ultimately, it should be determined quickly whether a given administrative act is lawful or not.

- According to Brussels, the accountability of the judicial system raises concerns, while mild penalties have been imposed on the magistrates for delayed cases.
- The penalties are not light. These should have a preventive objective rather than a demonstrative one. It would be more efficient for a given case to be delayed by several months, beyond the one-month period set for its resolution, in order to reach a well-considered decision rather than a hasty, rushed and incorrect one. Furthermore, my colleagues are different. Some are more analytical and need more time to react, while others resolve cases comparatively quickly. Therefore, there is no definite answer. The Administrative Court, Sofia was set up in 2007 and I hardly accept the idea of ​​imposing penalties. Personally, I imposed a penalty on a judge during the third year of the Court's existence and it was not an easy decision. It was not provoked by the inspection of the SJC (Supreme Judicial Council) Inspectorate. In fact, my colleague had delayed cases for more than a year which is unacceptable. I really imposed the lightest penalty on him which, however, had the necessary effect.

- Some time ago, the Minister of Justice launched the idea for a reduction of the number of administrative courts, which is currently 28. What do you think of this?
-The fact that our court exists is a positive one. There should definitely be administrative courts. It is another issue whether there should be 28 courts - the same number as the number of Bulgarian districts. I would ask the lawmakers whether they would demand a reduction in the number of the districts. I would be surprised if they say that they are ready to decrease the number of districts which elected them. The third and, I think, more important question is about the workload of the 28 courts. Evidently, they are not equally loaded. The larger courts have a greater workload than that of the other towns. For example, in Sofia, a judge hears 36 cases a month, while in the other courts, he/she considers 5 or 6 monthly. Furthermore, let us note the fact that the most severe administrative cases are concentrated in Sofia. The biggest taxpayers are here, the cases of all deputy ministers and specialised administrations, state agencies, as well as of the NEMC (National Expert Medical Commission), of the disabled are heard here. Therefore, it is normal for us to be burdened with a lot of work.

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