NEWS

The President will promulgate for a second time the approved amendments of the Special Surveillance Means Act and refer the case to the Constitutional Court

On 24 July 2013 the President of the Republic of Bulgaria imposed a veto on the Act for amendments and supplements of the Special Surveillance Means Act. The motives for the veto make it clear that the Head of State supports the ideas of the act for implementing mechanisms for control and improvement of the activities related to using and applying the special surveillance means. Only individual texts of the act which create conditions for violating basic constitutional principles – about the division of power and guaranteeing the independence of the judiciary were returned for a new debate in Parliament.

By imposing such a veto, the President gave the political parties represented in parliament the opportunity to discuss once again these texts and by making minimal revisions to dispel any doubts that they may be used to exert an anti-constitutional impact on the work of the judiciary. The possibility for some authorities outside the judiciary, such as the newly established National Bureau for Control of the Special Surveillance Means, to give magistrates and investigating authorities mandatory instructions, to demand the whole information even that concerning current cases, to have access to all documents does not comply at all with the principles stipulated in the Constitution.

Equally dangerous is the tendency to extend the range of parliamentary control even over the judiciary using such texts. In a couple of decisions it has made, the Constitutional Court explicitly points out the limits of control that the National assembly may exert.

Unfortunately, the recent parliamentary practice shows a clear tendency to intrude in the sphere of competence of other authorities. The establishment of commissions which practically make attempts to administer law, providing opportunities for a parliamentary commission to exert control over the inner convictions of judges and prosecutors, create a danger for the normal functioning of the judiciary and the democratic rule-of-law state.

Unfortunately, the debate in the National Assembly over the imposed veto on the Special Surveillance Means Act once again revealed the degree of political confrontation that has been typical of the whole political life in the country in the past months. The declared readiness for dialogue, for discussing arguments remained mere words.

The majority in the National Assembly declared that the veto was imposed for political reasons and did not consider it necessary to put forward arguments in essence. Within the parliamentary procedure the Bulgarian public did not hear how the power holders will guarantee the independence of the judiciary and the investigating authorities.

The President expresses his conviction that the principles of division of powers and the independence of the judiciary lie at the heart of the rule-of-law state and cannot be put under condition, no matter what the aim of the amendments of an individual law is. Therefore the Head of State will use the powers that the Constitution provides him with and will refer the case to the Constitutional Court.