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© Georgi Kozhukharov
The president of the Supreme Court of Cassation, Lozan Panov, requested that in today’s session the harsh declaration of the Union of Judges of Bulgaria be considered, but the majority rejected the proposal.
By a majority of 14 votes to 4, the plenary session of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary refused to consider as an additional item on the agenda the letter from the Union of Judges of Bulgaria, with which the largest professional organization once again demanded that the body Analyze the conduct of the Attorney General. initiate a procedure for their early removal. The proposal to discuss the statement, in which the judges harshly criticized Geshev’s actions, was made by the president of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC), Lozan Panov.
At the beginning of the discussion on the question of whether or not to debate the letter from the Union of Judges, Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev announced that he was formally concerned about the issue and left the hearing. In response, Lozan Panov stressed that he wants the Attorney General to participate in such a debate, and not to leave the hearing in a demonstrative way, because his presence is not his right, but his obligation.
According to the president of the Supreme Court of Cassation, Geshev is trying to hijack the law by removing him from the courtroom. Panov accused the attorney general of arrogance and announced that the institutions, including the prosecution, were becoming a center of power and behaving like a “bat for enemies and an umbrella for friends.” According to him, Geshev loosely defines criticism of the prosecution’s actions as an attack by accused oligarchs. He stressed that Bulgaria is in an image crisis and is the poorest and most corrupt country in the European Union.
Panov added that he hoped Geshev would muster up his courage and explain to the plenary what motivated his actions as a “cheap populist”, and expressed his hope that the Witness Protection Office would not visit the Supreme Court of Cassation or his home. Panov added that this is a practice that Geshev applies to anyone who dares to criticize him.
© Diary
Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev walked out of the SJC plenary session as the issue of his conduct and the actions of the prosecution, as well as criticism of the Bulgarian Union of Judges, formally concerned him.
The request to discuss the issue was supported only by Judges Atanaska Disheva, Olga Kerelska and Tsvetinka Pashkunova. They believe that the issue is important and should be discussed, because according to Kerelska, the SJC is the body that elected this chief prosecutor. That is why the SJC has to consider the actions of the Attorney General, as it owes responses to the public. According to her, it is even an insult for someone else to invite the staff to initiate a debate on these issues.
Disheva recalled that the amendments to the Law of the Judiciary of 2016 regulate the responsibility of the three main ones. “If we remain silent, the questions asked of us will be asked differently with such addresses,” Disheva added.
Prosecutor Georgi Kuzmanov said that discussing the statements of any non-governmental organization was not based on any legal procedure and that this created “artificial opposition between judges and prosecutors.”
Finally, the plenary agreed to consider the declaration of the Union of Judges in Bulgaria at the next regular session of the plenary on October 22.
