Bulgaria MPs Pass Updated Judicial Reform Strategy

Lawmakers moved on Wednesday to approve the new strategy on judicial reform after a four-hour debate.

The two biggest opposition parties, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) and the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), threw their support behind the draft, with their votes considered decisive.

The document comprises an action plan for the next seven years which includes the option of international assessment of activities at the prosecuting authority.

It also includes the division of the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) into two units, one for judges and one for prosecutors, along with a direct election of members.

Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov argues the move will improve the council's efficiency, while other magistrates and experts maintain that formally amending the system cannot address its long-standing problems.

On Wednesday Ivanov told Parliament the strategy was looking into options to solve "all problems plaguing the judiciary."

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