Just One Nominee for Chair of Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court

Sofia City Court head Georgi Kolev is the only nominee for new Chair of the Supreme Administrative Court (VAS), it emerged on Friday after the deadline for naming candidates expired.

Kolev has received 17 signatures of members of Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) is support of his nomination, just enough for him to be elected. Senior Prosecutor Boris Velchev is among those, who supported him.

"Mr Kolev has proved his high professionalism, independence and honesty," the proposal reads. It points out that as a chair of the Sofia City Court Kolev has made it possible for the magistrates to work undisturbed and has set an excellent example of high morale.

Georgi Kolev will replaces Konstantin Penchev, after the llater recently became the country's Ombudsman. Until now Kolev was the Chair of the Sofia City Court.

The 44-year-old magistrate has graduated from the former Communist Interior Ministry College "Georgi Dimitrov." He began his career as an investigator, and in 1996 became prosecutor with the Sofia City Prosecutor's Office where he remained for 4 years; the last two as Deputy Chief Prosecutor.

In the last 10 years Kolev has worked as magistrate with the Sofia City Court, then as its Deputy Chair and Chair. He is described by colleagues as quiet and reserved, tending to avoid conflict, but he has tried several emblematic, high-profile cases, some of which have been closely monitored by the European Commission.

The magistrate sentenced the former Director of Sofia Heating Utility "Toplofikatsiya," Valentin Dimitrov to 14 years behind bars for embezzling BGN 6 M from the company and ordered his properties confiscated; he sentenced Mario Nikolov to 12 years of jail for the draining of EUR 7.5 M from the EU SAPARD program and to property confiscation; he tried the case against the former Head of the Road Agency, Veselin Georgiev, charged with assigning winning bids in public procurement procedures to companies owned by his brother; ordered the arrest of former Velingrad Mayor, Fidel Beev, after the later refused to appear in court, sentenced two employees of the Road Agency for bribery.

In his declaration, Kolev lists as possible conflict of interests being a member of the Board of the Sofia Hunting and Fishing Association and having a spouse, who works as a notary public.

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