Lawyers protested against the procedure for the election of the next Prosecutor General and the nomination of Sarafov

Lawyers from all over the country on October 25 staged a protest against the procedure for the election of the next Prosecutor General and the nomination of the only candidate Borislav Sarafov. They also demanded a new procedure for the head of the Supreme Administrative Court. On the opposite position are the investigators, who claim that the procedure for the election of Sarafov is legal, and any organisation from the legal profession circles has the right to express an opinion.

Borislav Sarafov is the only nomination for the post of Prosecutor General

On the day of the European lawyer, lawyers in Sofia reminded that the Supreme Judicial Council members have expired terms and appealed to Borislav Sarafov himself to step down.

"The compromised trust in the body, even if the procedure is formally legitimate, cannot lead to an election that inspires confidence in the whole society. The Acting Prosecutor General is temporarily in office, which allows him to occupy this position, so our call is that this time be shortened. Our appeal is also to the General Assembly of Judges to re-elect their representatives so that as soon as possible we have a new Supreme Judicial Council that can make a truly lawful procedure", said Stefan Marchev, Head of the Sofia Bar Association.

The Plovdiv Bar Association, which was the first to object to Sarafov's nomination, pointed out that the choice was foreknown.

"We know what both Tsatsarov and Geshev (former Prosecutor General) did as chief prosecutors. Now we are being offered the same person to make a new start in the Prosecutor's office," said lawyer Ivan Demerdzhiev, a former Minister of Interior.

"We want democratic, constitutionally compliant procedures that leave the public with the feeling of justice, not the lack of it," said lawyer Marta Bozhikova.

"The candidate for chief prosecutor himself, who said a few months ago that he would not be one and would not be a candidate, if he has enough ethics, he should withdraw his nomination and candidacy," said lawyer Plamen Bonev.

"Sarafov is an investigator and the election is for the post of chief prosecutor, not chief investigator. The mixing of the functions of investigators and prosecutors is unacceptable," said lawyer Mincho Spasov of the Bar Association - Yambol.

The Chamber of Investigators supported Sarafov's candidacy in a statement a few days ago.

"I cannot give advice on what the Supreme Judicial Council, which is the body that is being urged to suspend the exercise of its constitutional powers, should do. But it is obvious that there is public pressure on it to take such a decision. The motives - we can only guess", said Marian Marinov, investigator and acting spokesman of the national investigation service.

"If the prosecutor general, and not only him, and the chairman of the SAC and the other big courts, if he were elected by accumulating likes on the Internet or on Facebook, his profile would be very different from the one that is clearly not convenient for some people and for the clients of the Prosecutor's office," he added.

The next Prosecutor General is due to be elected on January 16 and the Supreme Administrative Court chairman on March 20.

Judges call on current Supreme Judicial Council not to elect the new Prosecutor General and the new head of Supreme Administrative Court