“We express our fundamental and strong disagreement with the draft project for financial parameters of the judicial system’s 2016 budget as they significantly fail to correspond to the proposals the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) sent to the Council of Ministers,” said SJC member Sonya Naydenova, speaking with journalists after a sitting of the institution at which the 2016 draft project of the judiciary was discussed.

In her words, Tuesday’s extraordinary sitting was convened at the request of SJC members and is related to the draft 2016 State Budget of the Republic of Bulgaria Act. The draft budget was received on Monday and the SJC’s opinion was asked for.

“After the SJC discussed the matters at today’s sitting, the decision it took and will inform the Council of Ministers about through the Ministry of Finance expresses our firm stance the budget procedure was not observed the way it is envisaged in a decision of the Council of Ministers dating back to January 30, 2015. The deadlines envisaged in it for agreeing things are not observed, which has deprived the SJC of the possibility for presenting substantial and detailed grounds for the proposals,” Ms Naydenova explained.

In her words, the SJC expresses its disagreement with the financial parameters of the judicial system’s budget.