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The Venice Commission asked GERB to remove the inviolability of the Attorney General from the constitution. The Constitutional Law Body of the Council of Europe carried out an urgent inspection of the draft “new constitution” of the GERB at the request of the parliamentary majority. The commission’s conclusions are awaited.
“The possibility would be lost if the current constitutional reform does not address the issue of abolishing the ‘tax monopoly’ and the possibility of prosecuting the chief prosecutor,” the Venice Commission said in a statement.
According to international experts, Bulgaria’s basic law should allow the removal of the attorney general when there is a potential conflict of interest or suspicion of a crime.
The Venice Commission explicitly emphasizes that a prosecutor cannot investigate the main prosecutor because all prosecutors are his subordinates.
The head of state prosecution must be subject to a “completely independent investigative mechanism.” There must also be judicial review of decisions not to investigate the Attorney General. Currently, the decisions of prosecutors to refuse to initiate proceedings cannot be appealed to the courts.
The Venice Commission insists that prosecution power outside criminal law be reduced to the minimum necessary. The institution’s position insists that at least half of the positions in the future Council of the Judiciary be filled by judges chosen by their colleagues at all levels of the judiciary.
Non-professional members of the Fiscal Council must not have current or future hierarchical ties to the Attorney General and represent other legal professions.
The Council of Europe’s body of experts wants the introduction of a mechanism to resolve the situation when the National Assembly cannot reach 2/3 of the votes for the election of non-professional members of the Fiscal and Judicial Council.
In its position, the Venice Commission regrets that the launch of the constitutional reform was not preceded by a broad public debate and that the draft was prepared by a parliamentary majority, without any external contribution. It is recalled that the reasons for some constitutional amendments are not well explained.
“The Bulgarian authorities should clarify the reasons behind each proposal and ensure the meaningful participation of the public, experts and all political forces in this process,” the position said.
The Venice Commission also wants some clarification. In particular, the obligation imposed by the state to “promote fertility.” The Commission says the following: it should not be used to justify discrimination against cultural or ethnic minorities or women.
The commission says that the project to reduce the number of legislators from 240 to 120 appears to be the result of an arbitrary decision, without an in-depth assessment of the impact of such a move on the Bulgarian political system.
However, the Venice Commission considers the decision to introduce the right of citizens to appeal to the Constitutional Court to be correct.
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