Bulgaria Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov urges stalled Supreme Judicial Council to halt staffing changes

Justice Minister Nikolay Naydenov sent a statement to the acting Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) chair Boyan Magdalinchev urging the council, whose mandate expired in October 2022, to stop all staffing alterations in the judiciary, including the opening and closing of judicial posts. The request coincides with the plenary’s agenda for additional staffing points and follows the parliament’s second reading of amendments to the Law on Judicial Power that expressly strip the expired‑mandate VSS of any authority to make permanent organizational or staffing decisions.

Naydenov warned that “decisions with lasting organizational effect must be left entirely to the newly elected council” and that any rushed measures would “demonstrate a blatant disregard for the will of the National Assembly, eroding public trust.” He called for the withdrawal of the extra staffing points and noted that a new VSS composition is expected by mid‑October, with a new inspectorate and a new chief prosecutor slated for February 2027. The forthcoming legal changes would limit the VSS to appointing only junior judges, prosecutors, investigators, and reinstatements until a duly elected council assumes power.