Constitutional Court Opens Case about Acting Prosecutor General’s Term 2026

Balgarianovinite.com The Constitutional Court has instituted a case on an application by the Varna Court of Appeal concerning the term in office of the acting Prosecutor General, the press office of the Constitutional Court said on Tuesday. The decision to start proceedings was made after the Varna court rectified irregularities in its application within a 14-day deadline set by the Constitutional Court. Judge Yanaki Stoilov has been appointed as the rapporteur for the case.
A judgment by the Constitutional Court will potentially end a stalemate over whether Borislav Sarafov is the legitimate acting Prosecutor General – or not, because he has overstayed a prescribed six-month term in office.
The irregularities which the Constitutional Court saw in the original application of the Varna Court of Appeal and which were eventually remedied concerned a failure to provide sufficient reasoning and clearly define what constitutional rules were violated in Sarafov’s case.
The application from the Varna court is about whether a provision in the Judicial System Act (Article 173, (15)) on the early termination of the Prosecutor General’s mandate, the appointment of an acting Prosecutor General, and the period during which the same person may perform these functions is compatible with the Constitution. The Varna court also asks the Constitutional Court how to interpret the provision, whether it should apply only going forward or also to people who were already appointed as acting Prosecutor General before the law came into force.
Borislav Sarafov was appointed acting Prosecutor General in June 2023. In January 2025, Parliament amended the Judicial System Act to introduce a new rule (Article 173(15)), stating that an acting Prosecutor General (and acting heads of the highest courts) can serve no more than six months. According to legal experts and a ruling by the Supreme Court of Cassation, the six-month limit meant Sarafov’s mandate automatically ended on July 21, 2025, because the new rule applied to his ongoing interim appointment. As a result, the Supreme Court of Cassation ruled that he no longer has authority to perform key functions – such as requesting the reopening of criminal cases – after that date.
Article 173(15) of the Judicial System Act states: “In the event of early termination or expiry of the mandate of the Prosecutor General, the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation, or the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, an acting official shall be appointed to perform the respective functions, subject to the following condition: the same person may not perform the respective functions for a period exceeding six months, regardless of whether there have been interruptions in the performance of the functions.”
In its application to the Constitutional Court, the Varna court challenges Sarafov’s authority to reopen criminal cases. Constitutional Court Opens Case about Acting Prosecutor General’s Term 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-01-20 18:41:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law