Bulgarian judges cry foul over top appointments

(SOFIA) - Bulgaria's judges union on Wednesday protested new appointments by parliament to the country's top judiciary body, questioning their competence and the transparency of the nomination procedure.

Parliament approved without debate Tuesday the new make-up of the Inspectorate to the Supreme Judicial Council, created in 2008 on the European Commission's recommendation to oversee transparency, independence, integrity and professional merit in judicial appointments.

The 10 new inspectors were not qualified however to do the job and their appointments were politically motivated, the judges' union charged on Wednesday.

"There are only two administrative judges among the nominations... and they will hardly have the necessary resources to handle all the work," the judges said in a statement.

"The independence of the judiciary could be put in danger -- regardless of whether this is deliberate or a result of incompetence."

"The choice of inspectors, not including mostly judges, raises the question of whether the body is not politicised," they added.

Earlier this week, eight Bulgarian human rights groups reacted to the inspectors' nomination, cautioning that they might prove "truly harmful to the justice system."

"They will serve as an instrument for the control of judges by political power by 'disciplining' and 'punishing' them," they said.

"Political power is shameless," the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee added in a statement Wednesday, accusing parliament of "trading" the inspectorate seats to "people proven as dishonest."

Appointments in Bulgaria's slow and inefficient judiciary have long raised eyebrows in Brussels, with the Commision repeatedly warning the EU newcomer to guarantee independence and transparency if it wants to reform the system.