At a time when amendments to the constitution are under discussion, the judiciary in Bulgaria is being rent asunder by conflicts which are taking on a more and more political colouring.

At the beginning of the outgoing week, the Supreme Judicial Council passed censure on Justice Minister Hristo Ivanov who declined to initiate disciplinary proceedings against prosecutors from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office, as demanded. This demand enraged Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov so much as to push him to lodge a complaint with the European Commission. By the end of the week, a member of the Supreme Judicial Council had admitted to the fact that these and other rising pressures had generated tension among the members of the institution.

The tensions accompanying the discussions of constitutional amendments were transferred onto the ruling coalition. The left-wing ABV party (Alternative for Bulgarian Revival), which supports the government, stated the justice minister was the principal spoke in the wheel of an effective and working reform in the judiciary. The right-wing Democrats for a Strong Bulgaria on their part said that the right-wing members of the ruling coalition did not support any of the proposed changes in the prosecutor’s office, and that if the justice minister was to be replaced, they would withdraw from the government. And while magistrates and politicians were bickering, the citizens demanded a much more radical reform and… things got far too complicated to be comprehended.

Talking to reporters, none other than the prosecutor general raised some questions with sinister overtones, and answered them himself:

“What have we been doing one whole year in the judicial system? We have been discussing the constitution, that is all we have been doing! Have you heard of any draft bill on amending the criminal code or the constituent elements of the crime of corruption? You have not! One year wasted on discussions of strategies and constitution, constitution and strategies. Twenty years wasted in strategies. We are the masters of strategies, our weak point is tactics.”

This final assertion is debatable, however, because others may well say that after so much tactical controversy, the country has been losing its strategic bearings.

English version: Milena Daynova