“The big theme today is that the country is in the process of selecting a new Supreme Judicial Council and I will follow this process closely, every day, in the interests of citizens and civil society,” President Rosen Plevneliev told journalists in Sozopol. The Head of State visited Sozopol today on the occasion of the city’s holiday.
The President reiterated to journalists that it is crucial that the new membership of the SJC is elected legitimately and starts working with transparent and well-informed decisions. He said that judicial reform and transparency in the functioning of the justice system and the selection and operation of the SJC will be the main topics in the report of the European Commission under the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, and this means that Bulgaria must do its work in this area in coming years. “The reforms carried out so far will be judged on their results,” President Plevneliev said.
The President said that in the selection procedures for the SJC, who the candidates would be, and how they would be presented to society, and in how strongly the voice of each would be heard, it would become clear how the basic requirements of the EC report, namely the recommendations, would be addressed and what would be done after that. “It is therefore necessary that there be an objective, transparent and fair selection of the most worthy candidates for the Supreme Judicial Council,” he said.
“My position is as principled as well as the life that I have led. And my principle position is that backlogs in the judicial system are a systemic problem and not just a matter of the actions of a magistrate. From this perspective, given that the problem is systemic and the solution must be systematic and must at least be well justified and transparent,” the President said. Rosen Plevneliev reiterated his firm position that the dismissal of judge Miroslava Todorova had happened without the SJC having presented sufficient justification. He described this as unacceptable.
During his visit to Sozopol, President Plevneliev was welcomed with military honours by an honour guard of sailors from the Naval Base in Burgas. The head of state met with the mayor of the city Panayot Reisi, the governor of Burgas Konstantin Grebenarov and Professor Bozhidar Dimitrov.
In Sozopol, President Plevneliev visited the Saints Cyril and Methodius church and venerated the relics of St. John the Baptist. The President was briefed on the latest archaeological research at the Entrance Gate and the St Nikolai the Wonder-worker monastery, then visited the architectural and historical complex at the Southern Fortress Wall and Tower and the museum of the Sozopol Foundation.
On the occasion of the city’s holiday, the President inaugurated the new symbol of the town - an Alamana-style old fishing boat, and an exhibition at the Archaeological Museum exhibition “Coins of the West Pont”.
Later, at in the Burgas Summer Theatre, President Rosen Plevneliev will open the festival “Days of European Cinema, Burgas 2012”. For 15 days, some of the best contemporary European films will be shown in the seaside town. The festival is organized jointly by the Municipality of Burgas and the European Commission.