Bulgarian Justice Minister Criticizes Controversial Dismissal of Judge

Bulgarian Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva has criticized the country's Supreme Judicial Council over the controversial dismissal of Judge Miroslava Todorova, Chair of the Bulgarian Judges Association.

Todorova was dismissed by Bulgaria's Supreme Judicial Council on disciplinary grounds (unreasonable delay of proceedings). However, the move is widely believed to have been triggered by her criticism of the Supreme Judicial Council and the libel suit she filed against Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov.

On Friday, Kovacheva pointed out that few Judges have been fired for delaying proceedings, adding that the Supreme Judicial Council may need to reassess its decision.

"There is no doubt that violations concerning delays have taken place. There was one such case last year. A judge was fired for 20 delayed cases, but the violations were not that serious," the Justice Minister has told reporters.

Kovacheva believes that double standards have been applied by the Supreme Judicial Council regarding Todorova's dismissal.

"The decision was made without any debates," she added.

Torodova was accused of writing motives in the course of 4 years and 8 months, leading to the dismissal of a kidnapping case on grounds of prescription. She was also involved in presiding over a murder case, where she wrote motives in 4 years, and was further probed for writing motives in the case against drug lord, Vasil Manikatov, in 2 years and 5 months.