EC Refuses to Comment on Disciplinary Dismissal of Bulgarian Judge

EC Spokesperson Mark Gray has refused to comment on the dismissal of Judge Miroslava Todorova on the grounds that it is an individual case. Photo by dariknews.bg

The European Commission (EC) has refused to come up with a concrete stance on the dismissal of Bulgarian Judge Miroslava Todorova on disciplinary grounds, saying that it does not handle individual cases.

"The independence of judges and the overall issue of disciplinary action and how it is used and applied was among the topics we reviewed during the expert missions in Bulgaria in the past few months under the cooperation and verification mechanism," EC Spokesperson Marc Gray said Thursday, stressing that he was not commenting on the case in question but on the general topic.

"Obviously disciplinary action, the role of the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) and the appeal process before the Supreme Administrative Court (VAS) also have a role here," he added.

Mark Gray further went on to say that the independence of the judiciary was an essential issue and the EC would keep stressing its importance.

Miroslava Todorova, Chair of the Bulgarian Judges Association and judge at the Sofia City Court, was dismissed Thursday by the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) on disciplinary grounds (unreasonable delay of proceedings).

Todorova gained reputation as the strongest critic of the Supreme Judicial Council and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.

She filed a libel lawsuit against Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov with the Sofia Regional Court on February 06.

The step was triggered by two consecutive interviews of the Interior Minister in which he accused her of incompetence and of patronizing organized crime because of the delayed presentation of the written motives to an eight-year jail sentence handed down to drug lord Vasil Manikatov.

Todorova is not seeking a monetary award and if the Interior Minister is found guilty, he will be penalized with a public reprimand and a fine of BGN 5000-15000 which will go into the state coffers.

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