In connection with political statements by representatives of political parties and leaders of parliamentary groups, made in recent days to the judiciary, the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria considers that the majority of them violate basic European values such as the rule of law and the separation of powers, which is a serious cause for concern for the observance of basic democratic principles.
We find attacks against the judiciary, which are not based on facts and laws in the Republic of Bulgaria, completely unacceptable in a modern society, part of the European Union. The systematic undermining the prestige of judiciary for electoral and narrowly political purposes leads only to institutional and state disintegration. The consequences of these long-standing actions by various Bulgarian politicians and political parties have resulted in what the people are seeing - an increase in crime affecting all Bulgarian citizens.
The Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria supports the implementation of a real legal reform in the form of legislative changes that would be in the interest of the Bulgarian people and not only in pursuit of expedient political interests, different from that of the Bulgarian citizens.
We remind you that our European partners have been insisting for years on the implementation of reforms to eliminate the heavy formalism in the criminal process, which is perhaps the highest standard for proving criminal activity in the entire European Union. The same was stated in a comparative analysis, containing studies in other member states of the European Union, presented by the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Bulgaria in the 44th National Assembly.
It should be recalled that more than two years ago the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria brought to the attention of the MPs expert proposals for amendments to the Criminal Code related to the possibility of confiscation of motor vehicles of drivers who have consumed alcohol and drugs, as well as the qualification as an deliberate act of actions causing death on the roads by such persons.
There are proposals by the Prosecution to change the legal framework for homophobic crimes and other discriminatory acts.
For years, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria has been calling for a legislative reassessment of various criminal offences, such as the decriminalization of the so-called "provocation to bribery", which would contribute to a real and successful fight against corruption.
These are just a few of the many real challenges related to ensuring the security of every Bulgarian citizen, which have been awaiting a solution from the Bulgarian legislator for a long time. In this sense, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria welcomes every legislative initiative of the MPs, including those related to the implementation of criminal liability of the Prosecutor General and his deputies in case of a possible crime. It is the constant opinion of the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office that the same should be implemented in compliance with the Constitution and European standards of the rule of law. The establishing of extraordinary legislation and procedures is clearly contrary to the same.
As it has repeatedly demonstrated, the leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria is ready to engage in a debate on legal reform that will contribute to guaranteeing the security and rights of the people. Protecting Bulgarian citizens from criminal abuse is the only purpose of the institution, part of which we are, and the only enemy of Bulgarian prosecutors and investigators is crime and the perpetrators of criminal acts.
We insist that when considering and adopting legislative changes, in addition to the Constitution, they should take into account the already established practice of the legislative process, as well as the opinions of representatives of the academic community and legal practitioners, in view of the consequences that the changes would have on the overall process of functioning of the judiciary. We are ready and looking forward to an expert, but not a political, debate on legal reform.
We believe that in a pre-election situation, in view of the permanent political and even constitutional crisis - the expired mandates of the Supreme Court of Justice, the SJC and numerous regulatory bodies, as well as an unfilled parliamentary quota of the SJC, create a risk of destabilization of the judiciary as well, which would not be in the interest of Bulgarian citizens, but only in favor of crime.
The leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria is not worried about the introduction of the mechanism for the implementation of criminal liability, which is quite possible at the moment, in accordance with the Constitution and the laws. At the same time, we are concerned that the extraordinary legislation will violate the principles of the rule of law. The attempts to replace the principle of legality with the principle of political expediency, which is characteristic of anti-democratic regimes such as we see close to us, are worrying. The fact that various political parties are making unacceptable attacks on the judiciary shows that the institutions of the independent judiciary and the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Bulgaria in particular, are carrying out their duties in the interests of the citizens.
In this regard, once again we call on all responsible representatives of the Bulgarian political parties to respect democratic principles and the separation of powers, as otherwise it would lead to deepening the existing serious enough problems which the country is facing. We are adamant that 'judicial reform' cannot be understood solely as the adoption of extraordinary legislation to implement political interference in the independence of the judiciary and the replacement of several heads of institutions within it.
The leadership of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria will continue to oppose any attempt to politically control the institution and violate its independence. This is important above all, not for the prosecutors and investigators themselves, but for the Bulgarian citizens who will be affected by yet another political experiment.
Bulgarian prosecutors and investigators will continue actively, in compliance with the legal powers, counter various forms of crime and solve people's problems. In these efforts and in the performance of its duties, the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Bulgaria relies on the support of other law enforcement institutions and the entire state, of which the Bulgarian MPs are a part.