Bulgarian Supreme Judges Seal Controversial Sofia Court Deal

Society | November 19, 2011, Saturday // 12:56|  views

The brand new Chair of Sofia's City Court, Vladimira Yaneva, has been already involved in several scandals. Photo by BGNES

Controversial judge, Valdimira Yaneva, will remain at the post Chair of the Sofia City Court, the Bulgarian Constitutional Court has ruled.

The Constitutional Court's decisions have been published Friday.

Two weeks ago, Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) overturned the Supreme Judicial Council's (VSS) appointment of Vladmira Yaneva as Chair of the Sofia City Court. It was a unprecedented decision, since it was signed by only two of the three judges in the panel. The third one had refused to put his signature and had withdrawn from the case.

The claim was filed by the other candidate for the post, Velichka Tsanova.

The Constitutional Court rule against the VAS decision came on the grounds that VAS had not complied with the law amendment and voted secretly.

The claim will now be examined by a 5-member VAS panel, however, with the Friday Constitutional Court rule, Yaneva's remaining at the post is almost certainly a done deal.

On Friday, the supreme magistrates also recalled the open vote during elections for high-ranking judicial posts on the grounds of "lack of logical consistency," since text in the Constitution provide for a secret vote for selecting magistrates and prosecutors.

The Vladimira Yaneva scandal broke at the end of May, when with four years of experience, two of them on maternity leave, she won the appointment at second round against Tsanova, a judge with extensive experience, Deputy Chair and temporarily in charge of the same court.

Yaneva, who has admitted to be close family friend of Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, stirred a storm of controversy with the admission and with allegedly committing conflict of interest.

The appointment sent shockwaves through the judicial system in Bulgaria, triggering several resignations with accusations the executive power is interfering and chocking the Courts.

The VSS vote was labeled by the Head of the Supreme Court of Cassations, Lazar Gruev, as a "split personality disorder" or a set scenario since at second round Yaneva received support by magistrates, who initially voted for Tsanova.

On Friday, the supreme magistrates have also decided that VSS members should be subjected to a classified information clearance check on the grounds the latter could be deemed interference of executive power in the activity of the judicial one.

In addition, the Court ruled that the new special court AKA the anti-mafia tribunal is not anti-constitutional. The tribunal is a first-instance criminal court set up to hear high-profile organized crime and corruption cases.

The constitutional magistrates, however, recalled the possibility for all cases against one defendant to be tried by the special tribunal when one of the defendant's crime cases is tried by it. They also rejected the Penal Code amendment mandating witnesses, experts and lawyers to appear before the special tribunal even if they have been summoned by another court.

The claim was submitted by 58 Members of the Parliament from the two major opposition forces – the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS).

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Tags: Sofia District Court, anti-mafia tribunal, specialized court, special court, Facility, modern, classified information, clearance, Constitutional Court, Velichka Tsanova, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Lazar Gruev, Vladimira Yaneva, Sofia City Court, Supreme Administrative Court, VAS, Supreme Court of Cassations, VKS, Supreme Judicial Council, VSS, DPS, BSP, Sofia City Court, Supreme Judicial Council

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