Justice Minister Urges for Clear, Fast Progress in Justice Reform


Sofia, February 13 (BTA) - "If we do not mark any clear progress
 in reforming justice within a short time, we will pay for the
delayed critical political remarks, absent from the European
Commission report, along with the interests," Justice Minister
Hristo Ivanov said at a discussion of the European Commission
report on Bulgaria's progress within the Cooperation and
Verification Mechanism.

Minister Ivanov also said that there are no political
qualifications or more eloquent expressions in the report but
such would soon follow, if Bulgaria does not avail itself of the
 credit of confidence given. He pointed out that the first
objective of the judicial reform strategy is to reform the
overall model of management of the judicial system and not just
the Supreme Judicial Council. There are quite a lot of
investments and human resources in the judicial system, which
are not managed well, the Minister said further.

In his opinion, all these disproportions subsequently turn into
points of pressure and generate different factors that restrict
the efficiency of the judicial independence.

Ivanov pointed out that the division of the Supreme Judicial
Council (SJC) into two chambers is a way of introducing a
collective component in the management of the prosecution
authority. The problems of the prosecution authority are not
sufficiently discussed at the Council, according to the
Minister. An important issue is why the Council does not
exercise higher control over the operation of the Prosecutor
General. If a specialized college in charge of the prosecution
is set up under SJC, this would strengthen the collective
discussion of the issues of the Prosecution Office, the Justice
Minister stated.