Deputy Chair of Supreme Court Resigns over Contentious Reform in Bulgaria's Judiciary

Galina Solakova has filed her resignation as Deputy Chair of the Supreme Administrative Court (VAS), VAS said in a statement Friday.

According to the announcement, Solakova is stepping down due to the "upcoming structural changes in the court and the "collective principle" of governance provided in the amended Judiciary Act".

Apart from giving up the post of VAS Deputy Chair, Solakova will keep her post as a judge.

Under the amendments, deputy chairs of Bulgarian courts will no longer have 5-year tenures but will be exposed to easier replacement by any new Chair of VAS, dnevnik.bg reminds.

Until recently, the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) appointed deputy court chairs at the request of the court chair for 5-year terms in office.

The changes are expected to facilitate unmotivated dismissals of deputy court chairs.

In its media statement, VAS emphasizes that Solakova's resignation is totally unrelated to the "widely publicized media speculations."

Sources from Bulgaria's Legal World magazine claim, however, that she has been asked to resign.

Solakova chaired the judge panel which reinstated Veselin Pengezov as Chair of VAS several days ago.

VAS revoked the decision of VSS removing Pengezov from the post of VAS Chair as a disciplinary penalty over a 2010 property scandal involving a transfer of ownership of beach-front property in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Primorsko to his daughter, Ana Pengezova, who is also a magistrate.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!