Judicial reform must not be carried out hastily; what we first need is a functioning National Assembly, said Vladislav Slavov, Chair of the Union of Jurists in Bulgaria (UJB), in an interview with BTA. He spoke to the national news agency on the sidelines of a seminar for legal professionals in Devin.
Slavov cited as an example the most recent amendment to the Constitution, drafted by a handful of anonymous authors, which was declared almost entirely unconstitutional. According to him, the outcome of recent reforms has been negligible — “neither lawyers are satisfied, nor citizens, nor our European partners.” The situation in the judiciary, he added, has been further aggravated by the inactivity of key judicial bodies. The Inspectorate has been operating with an expired mandate for five years, and the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) for three. “They cannot properly perform their duties because their members’ terms have expired, and, secondly, they are unable to appoint holders to key positions such as the Prosecutor General and the Chair of the Supreme Administrative Court,” Slavov noted.
This summer, the UJB issued a position paper calling for the continuation of the long-discussed but still incomplete judicial reform. Slavov reminded that Bulgaria has been “in reform mode” for 35 years. So far, he said, the process has mainly consisted of writing strategies — such documents were adopted by governments in 2001, 2009, and 2014. “Around 2020, we reviewed the implementation of these strategies, and the result was zero,” he added.
Slavov is convinced that the key to progress lies in having a functioning parliament. “This National Assembly has, for instance, set a requirement for a two-thirds majority when electing members of the SJC and the Inspectorate. In the end, MPs must reach an agreement so they can elect both the parliamentary quota of the SJC and the Inspectorate — since the latter is appointed entirely by parliament. I have never approved of this arrangement; I’ve never supported it — it’s absurd to me,” he said.
Based on the views expressed by UJB members at a general assembly, the organization has concluded that a procedure from the mid-1990s should be repeated. The proposal is to create three expert teams of prominent jurists, each led by a recognized legal authority, to develop proposals for reform.
The first team will focus on the SJC — answering questions such as whether the body should be permanent, whether it should have separate chambers, and how the parliamentary quota should be chosen — by the current majority or another. The UJB suggests that the parliamentary quota should be reduced, as it is currently equal in size to the professional quota.
The second team will examine the court system. There are currently 184 courts in Bulgaria, which, according to Slavov, is far too many — especially given the declining population, the falling number of cases, and shifting population dynamics. This, he said, justifies a process of redistributing judicial districts across the country.
The UJB also proposes reconsidering the three-instance model of court proceedings, suggesting that cases should reach the Supreme Court only in exceptional circumstances. This would help reduce the workload of the Supreme Court and its overall size.
On the issue of the legitimacy of Bulgaria’s chief prosecutor Borislav Sarafov, and the Supreme Court of Cassation’s opinion that Sarafov lacks legal authority to perform the role of acting prosecutor general, Slavov said this is a “textbook matter”. He did not wish to take an official position on behalf of the UJB, since its members represent different professions and hold differing views. However, his personal opinion is that the position of the Supreme Court of Cassation should prevail. “If the Supreme Court has said something, we must respect it. Neither the Prosecutors Chamber nor individual prosecutors can stand against the ruling of the Supreme Court — that must be the guiding principle,” Slavov said. Judicial Reform Should Not Be Done in Haste, We First Need Functioning Parliament, Says Head of Union of Jurists THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-10-26 15:18:00 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