Bulgaria parliament adopts judicial system act amendments at first reading

03/17/16 06:31
(http://www.klassa.bg/)

Bulgaria parliament adopts judicial system act amendments at first reading

Bulgarian parliament adopted the draft bill on amendments and supplements to the Judicial System Act at first reading. The document was passed with 118 votes “for”, 19 votes “against”, while 1 MP abstained. The draft bill was filed by the Council of Ministers on March 7, 2016, and it is in line with the adopted constitutional amendments.
The amendments to the act aim at assigning the Supreme Judicial Council with the status of an independent and efficient authority that guarantees transparent appointments in the judicial power and enjoys the trust of the society, the judges, the prosecutors and the examining magistrates.
With the amendments the Supreme Judicial Council is divided into a plenum and two colleges – a college of the judges and a college of the prosecutors and examining magistrates. The plenum, on the other hand, will rule on the general issues of the judicial power, while the colleges will focus their work on the problems of the different groups of magistrates.
The work of the two colleges will be assisted by committees on the attestation and competitions and committees on professional ethics.
Each college will make independent decisions on issues connected with its competence. The issues concerning the entire judicial system in general, on the other hand, will be within the competence of the plenum.
All personnel decisions, including such offering the President to appoint chairperson of the Supreme Court of Cassations, chairperson of the Supreme Administrative Court, and of Prosecutor General, will be adopted by the plenum with public vote.
The amendments also introduce rules for election of members of the Council by the National Assembly.
The motives to the draft bill also say that the amendments aim at restricting the political influence on the personnel decisions of the colleges, which is supposed to be achieved with qualified majority of eight votes of the judges’ and six votes of the prosecutors’ college.
The members of the Supreme Judicial Council with the professional quota will be elected by the general assemblies of the magistrates’ communities through secret vote.
Here is what the minister said during the debates, as well as some of the positions of the parliamentary groups.
“Judicial reform is expected by the Bulgarian society with greatest desire,” Bulgarian Minister of Justice Ekaterina Zaharieva said speaking at parliament.
“The draft bill was worked out with the participation of all interested parties,” Minister Zaharieva added.
In her words, if the amendments receive broad majority at parliament, it will be a signal to the Bulgarian society about the presence of broad political support for the judicial system reform.
“The whole draft bill was worked out with great attention. It represents and develops further the regulation under the Constitution,” Ms Zaharieva remarked.
“Parliamentary group of the Reformist Bloc will support the amendments to the judicial system act, while the team of Minister of Justice Ekaterina Zaharieva should be encouraged,” said Petar Slavov, MP with the Reformist Bloc.
In his words, the team of the justice ministry should be encouraged for its fast actions and fast elaboration of the draft bill.
Mr Slavov added that certain issues should be cleared out between first and second reading of the draft bill at parliament, such as the quorum of the members of the Supreme Judicial Council when magistrates were elected.
“ABV party backs the amendments to the Judicial System Act. This is also support to Minister of Justice Ekaterina Zaharieva,” said Lachezar Nikiforov, MP with the ABV.
“The ABV had a leading role in the constitutional debate, as well as in terms of the rejection of the secret voting and the access of citizens to the Constitutional Court,” the politician said further.
“I am afraid that with this draft bill you will hit the buffers yet again in your attempt to reform the judicial system,” said Mihail Mikov, Chairperson of the parliamentary group of the BSP Left Bulgaria and Chairperson of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP).
“This will incite serious tension, arguments and battles of lobbies. Just like you started this back in 2010-2011, now you are going to end it. In the future, another National Assembly, unless this one eventually turns to a clearer concept, will have to reform what you call judicial system reform now,” Mr Mikov remarked.
The politician yet again confirmed that the parliamentary group of the socialists would vote against the draft bill.
“Amendments to the Judicial System Act do not solve the problems in the judicial system, to certain extent they even worsen them,” said Filip Popov, MP with the BSP Left Bulgaria.
“Public resource and time are being squandered, they are directed into the wrong direction – a direction that is irrelevant to problems’ solution.
Such problems are seen in the lack of balance in the work load of the courts, the speed and the quality of the proceedings, the provision of staff in the system itself,” Mr Popov said further.

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Публикувана на 03/17/16 06:31 http://www.klassa.bg/News/Read/article/265673_Bulgaria+parliament+adopts+judicial+system+act+amendments+at+first+reading