SCC President Panov Refuses to Use National Bodyguard Service Cars Over Safety Concerns

Sofia, June 20 (BTA) - Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) President Lozan Panov said he wonТt be using the car provided by the National Bodyguard Service (NBS) as he has considers it unsafe. He was speaking to journalists at the building of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) on Tuesday.

PanovТs decision follows a refusal by the prosecution service to investigate an accident with PanovТs car due to lack of evidence that its tyre bolts had been loosened deliberately. Panov and his NBS driver alerted about the problem during a trip in the country on June 1.

Panov called "strange" the findings of the prosecution service that the tyre bolts of a NBS car can self-loosen from the high speed.

According to the prosecution, the bolts may have been loosened deliberately by the NBS driver. However, there is not enough evidence to support that and Panov himself ruled out such possibility.

Over the last month, Panov has called for "doing away with the Prosecutor General's uncontrollable status and taking the prosecution service out of the judicial system."

Commenting on the elections for representatives of the judiciary on the SJC, Panov said they have shown that magistrates are not indifferent to the judicial system. Panov said judges voted by conscience for a SJC lineup where arguments and integrity will prevail.

Panov reiterated his call for a reduced parliamentary quota on the SJC, which should be the aim of the judicial reform.

Judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates have already elected their representatives to the SJC in direct elections and now Parliament is set to choose its 11 representatives.