PRIME Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg had by mid-week declined to respond in public to a letter signed by 266 judges hitting out at Interior Ministry chief secretary Boiko Borissov.
The judges complained about Borissov's critical attitude towards them, and his habit of telling them how to do their job.
Government spokesperson Dimitar Tsonev said that out of respect for the judges, Saxe-Coburg would first send them personal letters and then would make a statement to the media.
On June 3, the judges sent Saxe-Coburg a letter expressing their concern at the lack of reaction by the Government to "the vicious practice of the Interior Ministry to evaluate publicly the work of the courts as 'good' or 'bad' and give awards to judges for 'a job well done'."
In their letter, the judges said that by giving his opinion on court rulings at the first instance, Borissov was derogating the authority of the judiciary and the courts, and was establishing a dangerous trend for dealing out street justice.
They said that in all countries, courts had a corrective role in relation to police work, not the other way around, and that inefficiency in police work and gathering of evidence could not be covered up by the courts.
"The police prevent and solve crimes but do not comment on court decisions, do not hand down sentences and do not carry them out," the letter said.
The judges said their letter was provoked by a statement by Borissov two weeks previously, that he expected the Sofia Regional Court to correct its decision and reconsider the three-year suspended sentence it gave to a drunk driver who killed two teenagers in Vratsa last summer.
At the time, Borissov said that the court should have kept in mind "the tears of the mothers".
The presiding judge, Yordan Toshev, said that the evidence was compromised because the police did not present to the court the blood sample within the 24-hour deadline, and the blood sample was too small.
The judges said that they were not seeking confrontation with Interior Ministry officials. They urged Saxe-Coburg and the Government to take steps to protect the division of powers, and put a stop to police arbitrariness.
The chairperson of the Judges' Union and a member of the Supreme Judiciary council (SJC), Nelly Kutskova, said that quite often younger and less experienced judges were afraid to issue exculpating verdicts because of media pressure exercised by senior Interior Ministry officials.
In an interview with Darik national private radio, Yonko Grozev, a lawyer on the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, said that disagreements between the interior ministry officials and the judges should be resolved among themselves. He accused the judiciary of a lack of transparency.
Borissov, who initially refused to comment on the judges' letter and did not make any statements on the most recent murders and other criminal accidents, said that he did not have bad relations with the courts.
"I do not remember derogating the authority of anyone, we have protested about only a few sentences," Borissov said.
- Staff Reporter
The judges complained about Borissov's critical attitude towards them, and his habit of telling them how to do their job.
Government spokesperson Dimitar Tsonev said that out of respect for the judges, Saxe-Coburg would first send them personal letters and then would make a statement to the media.
On June 3, the judges sent Saxe-Coburg a letter expressing their concern at the lack of reaction by the Government to "the vicious practice of the Interior Ministry to evaluate publicly the work of the courts as 'good' or 'bad' and give awards to judges for 'a job well done'."
In their letter, the judges said that by giving his opinion on court rulings at the first instance, Borissov was derogating the authority of the judiciary and the courts, and was establishing a dangerous trend for dealing out street justice.
They said that in all countries, courts had a corrective role in relation to police work, not the other way around, and that inefficiency in police work and gathering of evidence could not be covered up by the courts.
"The police prevent and solve crimes but do not comment on court decisions, do not hand down sentences and do not carry them out," the letter said.
The judges said their letter was provoked by a statement by Borissov two weeks previously, that he expected the Sofia Regional Court to correct its decision and reconsider the three-year suspended sentence it gave to a drunk driver who killed two teenagers in Vratsa last summer.
At the time, Borissov said that the court should have kept in mind "the tears of the mothers".
The presiding judge, Yordan Toshev, said that the evidence was compromised because the police did not present to the court the blood sample within the 24-hour deadline, and the blood sample was too small.
The judges said that they were not seeking confrontation with Interior Ministry officials. They urged Saxe-Coburg and the Government to take steps to protect the division of powers, and put a stop to police arbitrariness.
The chairperson of the Judges' Union and a member of the Supreme Judiciary council (SJC), Nelly Kutskova, said that quite often younger and less experienced judges were afraid to issue exculpating verdicts because of media pressure exercised by senior Interior Ministry officials.
In an interview with Darik national private radio, Yonko Grozev, a lawyer on the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, said that disagreements between the interior ministry officials and the judges should be resolved among themselves. He accused the judiciary of a lack of transparency.
Borissov, who initially refused to comment on the judges' letter and did not make any statements on the most recent murders and other criminal accidents, said that he did not have bad relations with the courts.
"I do not remember derogating the authority of anyone, we have protested about only a few sentences," Borissov said.
- Staff Reporter
