Senior Bulgarian magistrates' unlawful activity undermining the reputation of the country's judicial system

12.7.2017

Question for written answer E-004696-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Nikolay Barekov (ECR)

Is it permissible for senior judges actively to behave in a manner that places the judicial system of an EU Member State, Bulgaria in this case, under the sway of politicians and oligarchs? Given that the principle of judicial independence is one of the cornerstones of the European Union, does the Commission consider it normal and lawful for the President of Bulgaria’s Supreme Court of Cassation, Lozan Panov, to conduct himself in a way that reveals obvious political bias in respect of one of the country’s political parties?

Does the Commission consider this type of behaviour permissible, at variance, as it is, both with the ethical rules and standards laid down in the Bulgarian Judicial System Act and the Code of Conduct of the Bulgarian Judiciary and with the fundamental European values enshrined in EU declarations and basic texts, the purpose of which is to safeguard the principles of freedom, democracy and the rule of law?