The society took a deep breath end-January, when 200 out of 240 MPs supported the update of the Judicial Reform Strategy – the long expected change was about to happen. The hope has recently started to look like a mirage. Last week the temporary parliamentary committee for constitutional changes rejected by two votes the new texts that should reform the judicial system. A day after his TV appearance and the sentence on a “really powerful mafia acting in Bulgaria – the one of the eternal court chiefs”, Minister of Justice Hristo Ivanov was attacked from three sides. The Supreme Judicial Council demanded his resignation and the prosecution kicked off an inspection of his ministry due to a newspaper article.

“It’s not a surprise that the attacks against the justice minister have now turned personal”, comments Mrs. Ivanka Ivanova, a director of the legal program of the Open Society Institute. “That is due to the lack of expert reasoning against the reform, which can be found in the constitutional amendment proposals and the ones for the Law on the Legal Authority. It is obvious to everyone that there are very serious problems with the quality of justice in Bulgaria and that there is a whole bunch of reasons that make a justice reform something really urgent. There is a firm and formulated expert consensus on the constitutional changes proposed, such as the splitting of the Supreme Judicial Council in two sections – for judges and prosecutors, or providing the possibility for regular courts to turn to the Constitutional Court whenever an anti-constitutional legal text affects a pending case. The attacks that we have witnessed over the past few days and especially the ones against the minister of justice are a function of a total intellectual helplessness on the reasoning of the ongoing parliamentarian postponing of those essential changes’ voting. The constitutional amendments have been submitted by 130 MPs from the parties, supporting the government, with the exception of ABR and those are expected to cast their positive ballot. I see the big issue in the voting of the socialists and the MRF, as their support is necessary for the constitutional majority of 160 needed. I see the firm support of both parties and also a really hesitant behavior, demonstrated by the major GERB party itself, regarding the judicial reform measures.”

We can remind as a proof that two weeks ago PM Borissov launched a new course, towards the shortening of trials. The moment was not a coincidence. A day after the Supreme Lawyers’ Council presented its official stance, defending the reform proposals, by accident or not, lawyers turned out to be an essential element of the vicious circle of domestic crime.

“The only explanation that I have is that we have finally reached a proposal for judicial reform measures that has a chance to change something in the work of the system, interrupting at last that sustainable and heavy political dependence between the judicial system and the political elite in Bulgaria”, Ivanka Ivanova goes on to say. “The situation with pending proposals and some constant new measures proposed by someone, including the premier with no expert opinion on those – it is only a strategy that postpones the decision all the time, throwing dust in the eyes of the society.”

The socialists and ABR still keep their firm stance against the constitutional changes, but the MRF will participate in the consultations for the judicial reform. That was stated on Saturday by MRF leader Lyutvi Mestan in Plovdiv, where he and PM Borissov demonstrated nice relations. However, the chair of the movement underlined that the changes in the judicial authority could not happen the way the Reformist Bloc wanted them and called on Borissov to take over the initiative. Deputy Chair of GERB Tsvetan Tsvetanov commented that in a newspaper interview on Sunday like that: “The major reforms are supported by all parties, no need of leading roles or party egoism”. The constitutional changes are expected to enter plenary hall in the period July 22 – 24.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev