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| Round table: The Constitution and the Judicial Reform in Bulgaria
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On April 15, 2003, the Center for the Study
of Democracy jointly with the Union of Bulgarian Jurists held a
round table discussion, which provided a forum for
discussing the constitutional amendments, proposed by different
institutions and political parties, the declaration signed between
them, and the Decision of the Constitutional Court No.3 of April
10, 2003, on Constitutional Case No.22 of 2002. The Minister of
Justice, Members of Parliament, Constitutional Court Judges,
magistrates, representatives of governmental authorities and NGOs,
academics and experts took part in the event.
In his opening remarks the Chair of the Supreme Administrative
Court and of the Union of Bulgarian Jurists Mr. Vladislav
Slavov underlined the important role of the non-governmental
organizations for the implementation of judicial reform.
The Minister of Justice Mr. Anton Stankov explained that
the necessity of a number of constitutional amendments
corresponding to the upcoming accession of Bulgaria to the European
Union is caused by both domestic and international factors. In his
opinion the most important issues that need to be regulated by the
Constitution are: the immunity, the irremovability and the
disciplinary liability of magistrates; the introduction of mandates
for the heads of all units of the judiciary; the powers and
formation of the Supreme Judicial Council; and the stabilization of
the place and the role of the prosecutors' office and the
investigation.
Ms. Ekaterina Mihailova, MP from the United Democratic
Forces, expressed her support to the idea of carrying out
constitutional reforms and proposed the establishment of a
parliamentary committee to prepare concrete suggestions for
amendments in the Constitution.
Mr. Alexander Arabadzhiev, MP from Coalition for Bulgaria,
expressed his hope that the declaration signed by the political
forces would contribute to implementation of reforms on a
constitutional level.
Mr. Hristo Manchev, Deputy Attorney General, gave a
positive assessment to both the declaration and the decision of the
Constitutional Court and added that urgent amendments to the
procedural laws are required and they could be made by the present
Parliament. Mr. Rumen Georgiev, Deputy Director of the
National Investigation Service, outlined the personnel policy as
the main problem within the Judiciary.
Mr. Roumen Nenkov, Deputy Chair of the Supreme Court of
Cassation, suggested that the National Assembly should introduce
fair procedures for removal of magistrates who do not perform their
duties; guarantee the independence of the prosecutors who would
investigate such cases; and elect the members of the Supreme
Judicial Council with a qualified majority.
According to Ms. Tatiana Doncheva, MP from the Coalition
for Bulgaria, the decision of the Constitutional Court lacks
appropriate justification and reveals numerous weaknesses from a
political point of view. Ms. Doncheva expressed her concerns that
relations exist between business interests and the judiciary in
Bulgaria.
Professor Baycho Panev, professor in law, made a concrete
proposal for amending article 8 of the Constitution by adding a new
paragraph (2) providing that the legislature, the executive, and
the judiciary shall cooperate for protecting the national and
public interest.
Mr. Miroslav Popov, professor in constitutional law at the
Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski, referred to article
117, paragraph (3) of the Constitution and underlined that Bulgaria
is among the few countries, which guarantee the financial
independence of the judiciary as a whole, but does not ensure the
same for the individual magistrates.
Ms. Maria Strandzhanska, Chair of the National Union of
Jurisconsults, proposed amendments to articles 119, 122, and 134 of
the Constitution with regard to the introduction of specialized
commercial courts and the constitutional regulation of the place
and role of jurisconsults.
In their concluding remarks Mr. Vladislav Slavov and Dr.
Maria Yordanova, Director of the Law Program of the Center for
the Study of Democracy, emphasized that the implementation of
judicial reform requires close cooperation between the
non-governmental sector and the governmental institutions.
Full records of the discussion in PDF (410 kb) (in Bulgarian) | |
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CSD.bg |
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