Bulgaria 1991 Constitution (reviewed 2015)

Chapter VI. The Judiciary

Article 117

1. The judiciary shall protect the rights and legitimate interests of all citizens, legal entities and the State.
2. The judiciary shall be independent. In the performance of their functions, all judges, court assessors, prosecutors and investigating magistrates shall be subservient only to the law.
3. The judiciary shall have an independent budget.

Article 118

All judicial power shall be exercised in the name of the people.

Article 119

1. Justice shall be administered by the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court, courts of appeal, regional courts, courts-martial and district courts.
2. Specialized courts may be set up by virtue of law.
3. There shall be no extraordinary courts.

Article 120

1. The courts shall supervise the legality of the acts and actions of the administrative bodies.
2. Citizens and legal entities shall be free to challenge any administrative act which affects them, except those listed expressly by the laws.

Article 121

1. The courts shall ensure equality and equal opportunities for all the parties in the judicial trail to present their case.
2. Judicial proceedings shall ensure the establishment of truth.
3. All courts shall conduct their hearings in public, unless provided otherwise by law.
4. All court rulings shall be motivated.

Article 122

1. Citizens and legal entities shall have the right to legal counsel at all stages of a trial.
2. The procedure by which the right to legal counsel shall be practiced shall be established by law.

Article 123

Court assessors shall participate in the trial process in certain cases established by law.

Article 124

The Supreme Court of Cassation shall exercise supreme judicial oversight as to the precise and equal application of the law by all courts.

Article 125

1. The Supreme Administrative Court shall exercise supreme judicial oversight as to the precise and equal application of the law in administrative justice.
2. The Supreme Administrative Court shall rule on all challenges to the legality of acts of the Council of Ministers and the ministers, and any other acts envisaged by the law.

Article 126

1. The structure of the prosecution office shall correspond to that of the courts.
2. The Prosecutor General shall oversee the legality and provide methodological guidance to all other prosecutors.

Article 128

The investigating magistracy shall be within the system of the judiciary. They shall conduct investigation of criminal cases where it is prescribed by the law.

Article 129

1. Judges, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates shall be appointed, promoted, demoted, transferred and released from office by the Judges Chamber or, respectively, by the Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council.
2. The Chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Prosecutor General shall be appointed and released by the President of the Republic on a motion by the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council for a single term of seven years. The President may not refuse to decree any such appointment or release upon a second motion.
3. After completing a fifth year in the office as a judge, prosecutor or investigating magistrate and after appraisal, judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates shall acquire a tenure status by a decision of the Judges Chamber or, respectively, of the Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council. They, including the persons covered under Paragraph (2), may be released from office solely upon:
   1. Completion of 65 years of age;
   2. Resignation;
   3. Entry into force of a final sentence imposing imprisonment for an intentional criminal offence;
   4. Permanent de facto inability to perform their duties for more than a year;
   5. Serious infringement or systematic neglect of their official duties, as well as actions undermining the prestige of the Judiciary.
4. In the cases under para 3, item 5, the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Prosecutor General shall be removed from office by the President of the Republic, also upon proposal of one-fourth of the Members of the National Assembly, adopted by a two-thirds majority of the Members of the National Assembly. The President shall not deny the removal upon a repeated proposal.
5. In cases of removal from office under para 3, items 2 and 4, the acquired irremovably shall be restored upon subsequent appointment to the office of a judge, prosecutor or investigating magistrate.
6. The heads of the judicial bodies, except for those referred to in para 2, shall be appointed for a period of 5 years and are eligible for a second mandate.

Article 130

1. The Supreme Judicial Council shall consist of 25 members. Sitting on it ex officio shall be the Chairman of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Prosecutor General.
2. Eligible for election to the Supreme Judicial Council besides its ex officio members shall be practising lawyers of high professional and moral integrity with at least 15 years of professional experience.
3. Eleven of the members of the Supreme Judicial Council shall be elected by the National Assembly by a majority of two-thirds of the National Representatives, and eleven shall be elected by the judicial authorities. The members of the Supreme Judicial Council shall be elected under the terms established by Article 130a (3) and (4) herein and according to a procedure established by statute.
4. The elected members of the Supreme Judicial Council shall serve terms of five years. They shall not be eligible for immediate re-election.
5. (Revoked – SG 100/2015)
6. (Revoked – SG 100/2015)
7. (Revoked – SG 100/2015)
8. The mandate of an elected member of the Supreme Judicial Council shall expire upon any of the following occurrences:
   1. Resignation;
   2. Final judicial act for a committed crime;
   3. Permanent de facto inability to perform his/her duties for more than one year;
   4. Disciplinary removal from office or deprival from the right to pursue legal profession or activity.
9. In case of termination of the mandate of an elected member of the Supreme Judicial Council, a new member from the same quota shall be elected, who shall hold the office until the expiry of the mandate.

Article 130a

1. The Supreme Judicial Council shall implement the powers thereof through a Plenum, a Judges Chamber and a Prosecutors Chamber.
2. The Plenum shall consist of all members of the Supreme Judicial Council. The Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council shall perform the following functions:
   1. adopt the draft judiciary budget;
   2. adopt a decision on termination of the credentials of an elective member of the Supreme Judicial Council under the terms established by Article 130 (8) herein;
   3. arrange the continuing education of judges, prosecutors, and investigating magistrates;
   4. addresses organizational matters common to the judiciary;
   5. hear and adopt the annual reports referred to in Item 16 of Article 84 herein;
   6. administrate the corporeal immovables of the judiciary;
   7. make motions to the President of the Republic for the appointment and release of the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Prosecutor General;
   8. implement other powers as well, determined by statute.
3. The Judges Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council shall consist of 14 members and shall comprise the presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and of the Supreme Administrative Court, six members elected directly by the judges, and six members elected by the National Assembly.
4. The Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council shall consist of 11 members and shall comprise the Prosecutor General, four members elected directly by the prosecutors, one member elected directly by the investigating magistrates, and five members elected by the National Assembly.
5. The chambers, each acting within its professional domain, shall perform the following functions:
   1. appoint, promote, transfer and release from office the judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates;
   2. periodically appraise the judges, prosecutors, investigating magistrates and the administrative heads in the judicial authorities and address matters concerning the acquisition and restoration of a tenure status;
   3. impose the disciplinary sanctions of demotion and release from office on the judges, prosecutors, investigating magistrates and administrative heads in the judicial authorities;
   4. appoint and release the administrative heads in the judicial authorities;
   5. address matters concerning the organization of the operation of the respective system of judicial authorities;
   6. implement other powers as well, determined by statute.

Article 130b

1. The meetings of the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council shall be presided over by the Minister of Justice. The said Minister shall attend in a non-voting capacity.
2. The Judges Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council shall be chaired by the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation. The Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council shall be chaired by the Prosecutor General. The Minister of Justice may attend the meetings in a non-voting capacity.
3. The Inspector General may attend the meetings of the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council and the meetings of the Judges Chamber and the Prosecutors Chamber of the Supreme Judicial Council in a non- voting capacity.

Article 130c

The Minister of Justice:

1. shall propose a draft judiciary budget and shall lay the said draft before the Supreme Judicial Council;
2. (repealed, SG No. 100/2015);
3. may propose the appointment, promotion, demotion, transfer and release from office of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates;
4. shall participate in the arrangements for the continuing education of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates;
5. (repealed, SG No. 12/2007).

Article 131

(Revoked – SG 100/2015)

Article 132

1. When exercising the judicial function, the judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates shall bear no civil or criminal liability for their official actions or for the acts rendered by them, except where the act performed constitutes an indictable intentional offence.
2. (Revoked – SG 12/07).
3. (Revoked – SG 12/07).
4. (Revoked – SG 12/07).

Article 132a

1. An Inspectorate shall be established to the Supreme Judicial Council, which shall be composed of a chief inspector and ten inspectors.
2. The chief inspector shall be elected by the National Assembly by a majority of two-thirds of the Members for a term of five years.
3. The inspectors shall be elected by the National Assembly for a term of four years pursuant to the procedure laid down in paragraph 2.
4. The chief inspector and the inspectors may be re-elected, however not for two consecutive mandates.
5. The budget of the Inspectorate shall be adopted by the National Assembly within the frames of the budget of the judiciary.
6. The Inspectorate shall examine the operation of the judicial authorities without affecting the independence of judges, jurors, prosecutors and investigating magistrates in the performance of the functions thereof. The Inspectorate shall conduct checks for integrity and conflict of interest of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates, of the financial interest disclosure declarations thereof, as well as for ascertaining any actions damaging the prestige of the judiciary and such violating the independence of judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates. The Inspector General and the inspectors shall be independent in the performance of the functions thereof and shall be subservient only to the law.
7. The Inspectorate shall act ex officio, on an initiative by the citizens, legal entities or state bodies, including judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates.
8. The Inspectorate shall submit an annual report on its activity to the Supreme Judicial Council.
9. The Inspectorate shall send signals, proposals and reports to other state bodies, including the competent judiciary bodies. The Inspectorate shall provide public information about its activity.
10. The conditions and procedure applicable to election and removal from office of the chief inspector and the inspectors, as well as the organisation and the activity of the Inspectorate shall be established by law.

Article 133

The organization and the activity of the Supreme Judicial Council, of the courts, the prosecution office and the investigating magistracy, the status of the judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates, the conditions and the procedure for the appointment and removal from office of judges, court assessors, prosecutors and investigating magistrates and the materialization of their liability shall be established by law.

Article 134

1. The bar shall be free, independent and autonomous. It shall assist citizens and legal entities in the defence of their rights and legitimate interests.
2. The organization and manner of activity of the bar shall be established by law.