Parliament Votes to Set Up Specialized Courts
The majority in Parliament voted for the establishment of a specialized criminal court and a specialized appellate court which will try cases of organized crime and corruption. It will be enacted under amendments to the Judicial System Act which were voted conclusively at an extraordinary meeting of Parliament on Monday.
The two specialized courts will be based in Sofia. The jurors of the specialized criminal court will be nominated by the Sofia Municipal Council.
The MPs also decided that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC)members shall be lawyers with high professional and ethical qualities with an experience of 15 years or over. 11 of the SJC members will be elected by Parliament from among Bulgaria's judges, prosecutors, investigators, law professors and other lawyers. Of the SJC members electable by the judicial system, six will be elected by the judges, four by the prosecutors and one by the investigators.
The SJC shall determine the number, geographical jurisdiction and seat of regional, district and appellate courts after coordination with the Justice Minister (or the Defence Minister in the case of military courts).