If the proposed changes to the Criminal Procedure Code are adopted, there is a risk of overpowering and breaking up the prosecutor’s office
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On the occasion of the draft Law on the Judiciary (Law on the Judiciary), published in March this year. for public discussion, prosecutors and investigators from the District Prosecutor’s Office – Dobrich prepared and adopted an opinion, which was sent to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria.
Special attention in the opinion is paid to the new way of formation of the personnel body of the prosecutor’s office – the Supreme Prosecutor’s Council – provided for in the draft law on the Criminal Code. The draft provides that the staff of the High Prosecutor’s Council will be formed by 10 members, of which one by right, six elected by the National Assembly with a qualified majority from among persons who are not acting magistrates (prosecutors and investigators), and only three elected from the professional quota in a ratio of 2:1.
According to prosecutors and investigators from the Dobrich judicial region, such a legislative approach is in obvious contradiction with the principle of self-governance, which implies that prosecutorial affairs should be decided by prosecutors, with or without the assistance of external factors, which, however, should be impartial. With the proposed amendments, such guarantees are absent, since the majority of the members of the VPS are formed by external actors. The combination of a smaller number of members of the Prosecutor’s Council, elected from the professional quota, with a numerical preponderance of members who are not acting magistrates (prosecutors and investigators), at the same time elected by the conjunctural political power, ensures political influence on the institution. This means not just liquidating the self-government, but also mastering, humiliating and smashing the prosecutor’s office. Moreover, in modern countries there is no model in which the prosecutor’s office is deprived of self-governance and at the same time is dependent on the political power.
In their opinion, the magistrates from Dobrich are categorical that the proposed texts cause a drastic imbalance in the division of powers, which is to the detriment of the judiciary. Fundamental principles of a democratic society – the principle of the rule of law and the principle of the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria – have been ignored. If the regulations are adopted in their form, the balance between the authorities will be disturbed, which will directly reflect on the democratic foundations of the country.
In conclusion, it is stated that the proposed texts of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on the Judiciary, concerning the activities and self-management of the prosecutor’s office, not only contradict the basic law of the country, but are also disproportionate to the legitimate public interest. In recent years, there have been aggressive attempts by the political class to take away the autonomy and limit the independence of the prosecutor’s office. The proposed ZIDZSV categorically confirms these attempts. Prosecutors and investigators from the judicial region of Dobrich express their belief that justice will be preserved by preventing the mentioned proposals for amendments to the law from becoming part of the legal peace of the state.
Special attention in the opinion is paid to the new way of formation of the personnel body of the prosecutor’s office – the Supreme Prosecutor’s Council – provided for in the draft law on the Criminal Code. The draft provides that the staff of the High Prosecutor’s Council will be formed by 10 members, of which one by right, six elected by the National Assembly with a qualified majority from among persons who are not acting magistrates (prosecutors and investigators), and only three elected from the professional quota in a ratio of 2:1.
According to prosecutors and investigators from the Dobrich judicial region, such a legislative approach is in obvious contradiction with the principle of self-governance, which implies that prosecutorial affairs should be decided by prosecutors, with or without the assistance of external factors, which, however, should be impartial. With the proposed amendments, such guarantees are absent, since the majority of the members of the VPS are formed by external actors. The combination of a smaller number of members of the Prosecutor’s Council, elected from the professional quota, with a numerical preponderance of members who are not acting magistrates (prosecutors and investigators), at the same time elected by the conjunctural political power, ensures political influence on the institution. This means not just liquidating the self-government, but also mastering, humiliating and smashing the prosecutor’s office. Moreover, in modern countries there is no model in which the prosecutor’s office is deprived of self-governance and at the same time is dependent on the political power.
In their opinion, the magistrates from Dobrich are categorical that the proposed texts cause a drastic imbalance in the division of powers, which is to the detriment of the judiciary. Fundamental principles of a democratic society – the principle of the rule of law and the principle of the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria – have been ignored. If the regulations are adopted in their form, the balance between the authorities will be disturbed, which will directly reflect on the democratic foundations of the country.
In conclusion, it is stated that the proposed texts of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on the Judiciary, concerning the activities and self-management of the prosecutor’s office, not only contradict the basic law of the country, but are also disproportionate to the legitimate public interest. In recent years, there have been aggressive attempts by the political class to take away the autonomy and limit the independence of the prosecutor’s office. The proposed ZIDZSV categorically confirms these attempts. Prosecutors and investigators from the judicial region of Dobrich express their belief that justice will be preserved by preventing the mentioned proposals for amendments to the law from becoming part of the legal peace of the state.
Photo:news.lex.bg
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