BTA: SJC Plenum Refers Proposal for New Acting Prosecutor General to Prosecutors Chamber

The Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) left without consideration the proposal of caretaker Justice Minister Andrey Yankulov that a new acting Prosecutor General be appointed. The plenum referred the proposal to the Prosecutors Chamber as the competent body on the matter.

The decision was taken after over six hours of discussing whether the Minister's proposal is admissible.

Earlier in the day, citizens protested in front of the SJC against acting Prosecutor General Borislav Sarafov. The protest was organized by the BOEC civic association. Some stormed the Prosecutor General's office on the fourth floor in Sofia's Palace of Justice, demanding Sarafov's resignation. The crowd was stopped by security guards; some protesters tried to push the rest away from the office door.

A protest against Sarafov was also held in Sofia on Wednesday evening.

A controversy has emerged regarding the legitimacy of Sarafov's continued tenure beyond the six-month limit stipulated by recent amendments to the Judicial System Act. The law mandates that interim appointments to key judicial positions (acting Prosecutor General, acting Presidents of Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative Court) cannot exceed six months. Sarafov was appointed on June 16, 2023, and the six-month period expired on July 21, 2025, but he and the Prosecutors Chamber insist that the restriction does not apply to him as his appointment predated the legal revisions. The Supreme Court of Cassation, however, determined on October 2, 2025, that Sarafov no longer holds the authority to perform the functions of Prosecutor General, due to the expiration of the six-month period. This legal dispute has sparked political debates, with critics accusing Sarafov and the Prosecutors Chamber of disregarding the law and maintaining an unconstitutional status quo.

Approached for comment on Thursday, caretaker Justice Minister Yankulov said that from now on, he would take all possible steps to resolve "this matter" and "put an end to this extremely critical situation for the rule of law." "It is not within my powers to replace or appoint a new acting Prosecutor General, but to refer this matter to the relevant authorities for resolution," he explained. According to him, the SJC Plenum has, as expected, referred the matter to the Prosecutors Chamber in view of the decisions taken thus far. However, Yankulov said that it is not known what position the Chamber would take when considering the matter, but at the moment their decision seems predetermined.

"Borislav Sarafov has been in office for almost three years, and this is a temporary acting position, so it would be appropriate for someone else to take over for a period of time," Yankulov told reporters, raising the question of why this crisis of the rule of law cannot be overcome by a normal and natural action - someone else temporarily taking over the management of the prosecution service. He specified that no substantive arguments had been put forward as to why Sarafov should hold the position.

Asked by BTA whether, given the political situation and the upcoming elections, it was possible that the scenario with former prosecutor general Ivan Geshev would repeat itself and the Prosecutors Chamber would make a decision, Yankulov replied that he did not believe that the selection of these positions should be dictated by the political agenda. "Yes, unfortunately, we saw this happen in 2023, it happened exactly that way. After Mr. Geshev had been defended for so long [as prosecutor general], again with extremely convincing arguments, developed in detail and legally defensible, it suddenly turned out that they were worthless after some change in the political situation," said the caretaker Justice Minister.

During the debate, Supreme Court of Cassation President Galina Zaharova eargued that the acting Prosecutor General or Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court should be appointed by the relevant SJC chambers. She gave as an example the election of Marinika Cherneva as acting Supreme Administrative Court President by the Judges Chamber. Zaharova added that there are no special provisions concerning the acting Prosecutor General, therefore the Prosecutors Chamber should reconsider its decision to allow Sarafov to remain in office.

Judges Chamber member Tsvetinka Pashkunova said that the proposal for a new acting Prosecutor General should be left without consideration and that the only competent body is the Prosecutors Chamber.

Judges Chamber member Boyan Magdalinchev too argued that appointing an acting Prosecutor General falls outside the competence of the SJC Plenum.