Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor Warns Against Hasty Reform of Supreme Judicial Council

Bulgarian Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev has cautioned against a hurried, "emotional", reform of the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS). Photo by BGNES

Commenting on the plight of Bulgaria's embattled Supreme Judicial Council (VSS), Chief Prosecutor Boris Velchev insisted Thursday that any reforms of the body must be rational rather than emotional.

In a Wednesday statement before a session of VSS, Velchev remarked that the entity's reputation was marred, but "Until a political decision for changing the model is taken, there is nobody to fill in and take charge of the judiciary".

VSS can be dissolved in one of two ways- either all members resign, or the term in office of the body is terminated through a legal amendment, Velchev explained, saying that the first scenario is unlikely, while the second depends entirely on the Bulgarian Parliament.

Velchev's comments were provoked by the demands of the Union of Judges in Bulgaria (UJB) that all members of VSS resign, paving the way for a structural and staff reform of the entity.

UJB's appeal Wednesday marked a new stage in the scandal plaguing Bulgaria's judiciary following the protest resignations of VSS members Kapka Kostova and Galina Zaharova and judges Dushana Zdravkova and Velichka Tzanova and the conflict of interest affair surrounding the newly elected Chair of the Sofia City Court (SCC) Vladimira Yaneva.

According to the Chief Prosecutor, Yaneva should have been checked before her bid for the position was presented.

Velchev assured that he had not found anything disturbing with the attestation of the SCC Chair, urging her and VSS to comment on the spate of media allegations.

The VSS Inspectorate has launched a fast-track conflict of interest probe of Vladimira Yaneva.

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