Prosecutor General Ivan GeshevIvan Stoimenov Geshev was born on December 19, 1970. He graduated from a university degree in law and submitted a request to the Constitutional Court (CC) for a mandatory interpretation of Article 130, paragraph 4, clause 1 of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (CRB), the Prosecutor's Office announced.

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The Attempted Assassination of Ivan Geshev and His Demanded Resignation 328

The request raises three main questions related to the most representative body of the judiciary - the Supreme Judicial Council.

Two of the questions are - are the functions of the Council terminated with the expiry of its mandate and is it permissible to form a new one with the members of the professional quota of judges and prosecutors elected in 2022 together with the members by right – the chairmen of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) and the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) and the Prosecutor General.

The third question is - is it constitutionally permissible for the Supreme Judicial Council with expired mandate to take decisions regarding the chairmen of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court, the Prosecutor General and the other administrative heads in the judicial authorities.

The request states that the question for a mandatory interpretation is of utmost importance for the formation and functioning of the SJC. It concerns a real problem – the highest staff body of the judiciary functions outside its mandate, although there is an election of members from the professional quota.

The constitutionally established term of office of the members of the SJC is 5 years. The current Supreme Judicial Council was constituted on 03.10.2017 and its mandate expired on 03.10.2022.

In the period 4 June - 9 July 2022, 18 new members of the SJC were elected at the general meetings of judges (06.25 and 06.2022.02), prosecutors (07.09. and 07.2022.04) and investigators (06.11. and 06.2022.11). So far, however, they have not taken office because the National Assembly has not exercised its powers to elect the remaining 11 members of the judicial body. Thus, the current composition of the SJC continues to function outside the mandate set out in the Basic Law. This raises the question of the legitimacy of its decisions, and doubts about their validity threaten legal certainty, the request to the Constitutional Court says.

Ivan Geshev: I confirm that a threat has been made against a prosecutor and against me

The request of the Prosecutor General to the Constitutional Court reviews the different interpretations of possible solutions to the problem with the expired mandate of the current SJC and its legitimacy to make personnel decisions. Attention is drawn to the practice of the Constitutional Court, including Decision No. 12 of 27.09.2022 of the Constitutional Court under Case No. 7/2022. It explicitly states that "the constitutionally provided powers of state bodies may not be taken away by inaction of another body responsible for their constitution and the National Assembly is no exception."

The Prosecutor General draws attention to the fact that the ineffective extension of the mandate of the Inspectorate of the SJC has been defined by the Constitutional Court as "a protective mechanism applicable in exceptional situations, where the members of a certain collective constitutionally established body, the minimum necessary for it to function, are not elected." In this case, however, there is a choice of members from the professional quota of the SJC.

The existence of contradictions and different interpretations of the provision of Article 130, paragraph 4, paragraph 1 of the Constitution actually threatens legal certainty and affects important public relations. The legality of the actions of the Supreme Judicial Council, and hence of the judiciary, is called into question, according to the request for interpretation addressed to the Constitutional Court.

The Assassination Attempt on Ivan Geshev and His Demanded Resignation

Ivan Geshev