“The reform in the judiciary must produce results that are visible for the Bulgarian citizens.” This is what President Rosen Plevneliev said, who today opened the second public debate on the topic: “Efficient and fair judiciary”, organized under the aegis of the Head of State within the initiative “Dialogue with the citizens.” More than 250 participants are taking part in the forum held in the Central Military Club in Sofia.
“The Bulgarian judiciary is not perfect and the position voiced by the Bulgarian citizens is that it must be improved. Hopefully, this forum will not exhaust the debate on this important for the public topic and the institutions including the Council of Ministers, the National Assembly, the Supreme Judicial Council and the institutions of higher education will help us find the correct solution,” the Head of State said.
The law administration system has always been a target of criticism, the President recalled and added that the promises the politicians make in public to guarantee the independence of the judiciary are later forgotten once they assume office. “Concrete steps should be made so that we can disprove the public mistrust,” Rosen Plevneliev was adamant.
The Head of State reiterated that the problems raised at the debate, as well as the suggestions made, will be put on the agenda of the institutions.
Upon opening the forum the president said that it is namely the citizens that have come up with the topics of the public debates, which are held under his patronage. “During the protests in February I promised the Bulgarian citizens to give the floor to anyone, to lend an ear to any voice and to address the reasonable messages to the institutions. I am also convinced that the correct approach that should be adopted is to identify the problems and find their solutions step-by-step,” Rosen Plevneliev said.
“We have been postponing the reform in the judiciary for too long and the current problems should be addressed by “cutting deeply”, Ombudsman Konstantin Penchev said. In his words, both the citizens and the politicians need a strong judiciary.