Bulgaria Adopts Fourth Amendment to Constitution

Politics | February 2, 2007, Friday // 00:00
Bulgaria: Bulgaria Adopts Fourth Amendment to Constitution Bulgarian ministers attended, but did not take much inrest, in the session of the parliament that adopted a controversial amendment the Constitution, the fourth since its adoption in 1991. Photo by Kameliya Atanasova (Sofia Photo Agency)

Bulgarian lawmakers adopted with a vast majority a controversial amendment to the Constitution, the fourth since its adoption by the Great National Assembly in 1991.

A total of 192 MPs from the ruling majority supported the amendments in a roll call vote, while 28 MPs from the die-hard rightist party of Democrats for Strong Bulgaria and nationalist Ataka party voted against.

Six lawmakers abstained from voting.

The change in the basic law provides for financial decentralization of municipalities, abolishes the obligatory army service and strip magistrates of their immunity.

The most controversial part of the legal amendments envisage the establishment of an inspection body within the Supreme Judicial Council, which will monitor the work of the whole judicial system.

It will be headed by a chief inspector on a five-year mandate and members on a four-year mandate each. They will be rotated every two years. The head and members of the inspecting body will be elected by the Parliament.

The amendment also ruled out full immunity for judges, prosecutors and investigators, giving instead only a functional immunity, which covers job-related activities.

The chief prosecutor and the heads of the Supreme Administrative Court and Supreme Court of Appeal must now report once a year to parliament about their work.

Bulgaria's chief prosecutor and the heads of the two supreme courts have lashed the secret constitutional policy of the Parliament and the planned fourth amendment to the country's basic law.

Amendments to Bulgaria's constitution in line with EU standards were high on the list of what the country should do after its accession to the bloc.

Bulgaria joined the European Union on January 1 but the functioning of its judiciary and the country's failure to jail notorious criminals and combat corruption prompted the EU to apply the strictest ever monitoring mechanisms on the Balkan newcomer.

On March 31, the European Commission is expected to assess the country's progress in meeting EU standards.

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