Top Judge: Bulgarian Judiciary Deserve Double Bonus as Compensation

The Chair of Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court, Konstantin Penchev, has spoken about necessary reforms of the judicial system. Photo by BGNES

Judges of the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court deserved more than two monthly wages, not as bonuses, but as compensation for their excessive workload.

The claim was made by the Chair of the Court, Konstantin Penchev, speaking on Saturday on Darik radio, in a reference to the news earlier in the week that judges had decided to award themselves two months' salary at the year-end.

"You cannot have 300 cases a year for one supreme judge. It is also bad for the people, because what quality can we demand, if one judge decides on two cases per day?" Penchev asked.

He explained that "the judiciary budget is independent, and when there is a remainder - a balance in hand of BGN 58 M in savings, out of which possibly BGN 24 M will be distributed - the remainder will go into next year's budget of the judiciary; it will not go elsewhere".

Konstantin Pentchev went on to state that the goal of the Bulgarian judiciary power in 2010 will be to combine with other authorities to create a working and effective judicial system. However, in order for that to happen a consensus should be reached on the main points in this reform.

"I think the most important issue is, if we're talking about a woolen ball, to find its end and to begin to disentangle it. It is high time now for representatives of all powers to sit round the table and write down the appropriate changes," he stated.

"First, the election process of VAS must be changed, to make it operate better and to elect its members carefully.

"Second, you need a change in the way of assessing the administration, in the way recruitment and promotion are done - there must be a new, clear and transparent mechanism.

"And when there is agreement on these basic points, then the corresponding experts should sit down and declare that the Constitution should undergo changes, and that new laws have to be written.”

Penchev also said that he believed the result of the "Krasio from Pleven" scandal had been positive, because "Krasio cast doubts about corruption related to specific names, who even confessed guilt by resigning. Already the largest "iron heads" in the judiciary system, who are deliberately obstructive towards reform, can no longer say that if you did not mention the names of corrupted people, then that means there is no corruption in the judiciary system," Penchev stated.

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