The Bulgarian parliament adopted at first reading on Wednesday the changes to the Judicial System Act.

Following a discussion lasting for three hours, 116 MPs voted in favour of the changes, five were against, while nine lawmakers abstained.

During the debates, MPs highlighted that there were both positive and negative sides to the changes, daily Dnevnik informs.

Justice Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said that she had heard many constructive proposals as well as unfounded criticism.

The changes foresee granting greater powers to the general assemblies of judges, outlining procedures for conducting integrity checks of magistrates by the inspectorate to the Supreme Judicial Council (VSS) and regulations concerning the hierarchy of the prosecutor's office.

The texts also feature regulations on the assessment and career development of magistrates as well as changes to the management of the court and the prosecution.

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