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Parliament adopted a mechanism to investigate the Prosecutor General and his deputies. Emil Dechev, Deputy Minister of Justice, told the Bulgarian National Radio that it is expected to be promulgated in the State Gazette on Friday.

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The attempted assassination attempt against Ivan Geshev and his requested resignation 333

"Within three days after promulgation, it will enter into force. Within 3 days, the judges who have agreed in writing to participate in the list to be prepared by the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Cassation and from whom, in the presence of a report of a crime committed by the Prosecutor General, will be selected to investigate. This will be done on the principle of random selection. A judge will be elected, who will be proposed by the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation of the Prosecutor's College, who will appoint him as a prosecutor in the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office to examine the signals.

He called on the criminal judges to be held accountable.

"A lot is at stake. Whether we become a normal rule of law state and a person, like the Prosecutor General, will finally become responsible. Here we also come to legal certainty, to admission to Schengen."

So far, there are two known signals against the Prosecutor General – from Borislav Sarafov and from the NGO "Boets".

"They were filed prior to the enactment of the Act. The prosecutors who are now working on them will interrupt work pending the election of a provisionally appointed prosecutor under the investigative mechanism. He will assess whether there is enough data to initiate pre-trial proceedings."

The prosecutor, who will be able to investigate the Prosecutor General and his deputies, will be like everyone else, although he previously worked as a judge, Dechev noted.

"The preliminary check of the signals for crimes against the Prosecutor General will be carried out by investigating policemen, who will be subordinate to this prosecutor. If he wishes, he will be able to carry out these preliminary checks himself."

Pekanov: The adoption of the mechanism for the Prosecutor General is the essence of the judicial reform

If it comes to attracting the Prosecutor General as a defendant, the cases of the investigator can be redistributed to his colleagues, the Deputy Minister explained.

He explained another change in the law, according to which new elections for the parliamentary quota in the SJC should be held within 3 months.

"Parliament failed to elect the 11 members of the SJC, for which it is obliged by the Constitution. A new election is also envisaged for the so-called. magistrate quota. I didn't hear any serious reasons for why this was being done. The importers had to justify it seriously."

Dechev also commented on the Prosecutor General's question whether it is possible for the new SJC to start in an incomplete composition, as well as his expected request for unconstitutionality of the legal changes.

"Whether this will stop their action depends on the initiation of a constitutional case and whether the Constitutional Court will consider that what is before it is admissible for consideration on the merits. If it considers that it has launched a procedure for the release of the Prosecutor General in the SJC, the SJC will be obliged to stop it. But if the SJC has already ruled and released him, this will have completed the procedure. Currently, there is a race of two different forces, each with its own procedure.

There is no unconstitutional norm in the part relating to the mechanism for the investigation of the Prosecutor General by a judge who will temporarily perform the functions of a prosecutor, the Deputy Minister noted.

"There is no violation of the principle of separation of powers. This is not extraordinary justice. There is an established practice under the European Convention on Human Rights, according to which, in order to discriminate, it is not enough to have unequal treatment or different procedures against one person compared to others, if that person is treated differently to them.

One of the biggest mistakes in the last 33 years is the Prosecutor General to go in the same package with the chairmen of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, Dechev believes.

"One of the big breakthroughs is its disconnection from the presidents of the two supreme courts."

The Assassination Attempt on Ivan Geshev and His Demanded Resignation

Emil Dechev

Prosecutor General's Investigation Mechanism