site.btaProsecutor General Geshev Asks Constitutional Court to Repeal Provisions of "Extensive" Parliamentary Oversight over Judiciary

Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev on Wednesday requested the Constitutional Court to declare Article 25 and parts of Article 86 of the Rules of Organization and Procedure of the National Assembly unconstitutional.

According to Geshev's request, Article 25 contradicts the principle of separation of powers and the independence of the judiciary, which is enshrined in the Constitution. The article stipulates that at least once every three months the National Assembly Committee on Constitutional and Legal Affairs should review the implementation of the law and the activities of the prosecuting magistracy and investigative bodies, and the review should be carried out in the presence of the prosecutor general.

Article 86 says that after such a review the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee may make recommendations, which, according to Geshev, is contrary to the Constitution as it "extends" the scope of parliamentary oversight over the judiciary, provided for under the Constitution.