Embattled Sofia Judge Keeps Denying Conflict of Interest

Domestic | August 25, 2011, Thursday // 15:01|  views

SCC Chair Vladimira Yaneva has attributed her self-recusal from the Sofiyski Imoti to a ruling of the court of second instance. Photo by Sofia Photo Agency

Vladimira Yaneva, the controversially appointed Chair of Sofia City Court boasting a family friendship with Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, has said that she continues to see no justification for the conflict of interest accusations laid at her doorstep.

Yaneva told journalists Thursday that she saw nothing wrong with the fact that she had presided over a case against the former executives of the municipal real estate firm Sofiyski Imoti, from which she had previously bought two pieces of property as a proxy for a company owned by her father.

One month ago, Yaneva self-recused from the case, only to announce on August 25 that the deals sealed with the municipal company were not the reason why she had withdrawn.

According to her, the step was triggered by a ruling of the Sofia Appellate Court revoking the closure of the case.

The ruling of the court of second instance points out that Yaneva's closing of the case constitutes an intervention into the substance of the case, which is inadmissible.

"In these circumstances, any judge would be under obligation to announce a self-recusal" Yaneva explained.

When asked about why the move came over 3 months later than the ruling of the Sofia Appellate Court, she stated that she had taken the time to study the court practice in relevant cases.

Yaneva is currently under investigation by the newly launched conflict-of-interest commission, which is to come up with a decision next week.

Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) refused to conduct a probe into allegations that the SCC Chair had violated ethical rules or check her breach of the ban on magistrates' involvement in commercial activities.

The VSS Inspectorate reached a conclusion that the SCC Chair had flouted deadlines in the Sofyiski Imoti case, as well as in a number of other cases, for which she had to face disciplinary action.

Yaneva's disciplinary penalty is yet to be decided by VSS, once it resumes activities after the summer recess.

Meanwhile, Yaneva's appointment as a SCC Chair was appealed by her main rival, Judge Velichka Tsanova, and the case will be heard by the Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) in the fall of 2011.

Yaneva's victory triggered tensions in the judiciary, which resulted in two protest resignations of VSS members and a boycott of the selection of their replacements.

At the same time, two parallel protest campaigns urging the "totally discredited" VSS to collectively resign were organized by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and by the bivol.bg website for investigative journalism.

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Tags: Vladimira Yaneva, Sofia City Court, Supreme Judicial Council, VSS, VSS Inspectorate, conflict of interest, Sofiyski Imoti, Sofia Appellate Court, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Velichka Tzanova

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