In brief
In the September election for the Supreme Judicial Council’s judges’ professional quota, judge Krasimir Mazgalov vowed to serve as a direct representative of the judicial community and to tackle systemic issues with concrete measures. His priorities include protecting judicial independence, improving workload measurement, fostering transparent career development, and holding judges accountable for misconduct.
On Saturday, at the General Assembly of Judges in Sofia, judge Krasimir Mazgalov announced his candidacy for the Supreme Judicial Council’s (SJC) judges’ professional quota. He said he would act as a direct voice for the judicial community and take concrete action to fix the problems he has highlighted for years.
Mazgalov linked criticism to responsibility. “If elected, I will stay in regular contact with magistrates,” he said. “This will let us spot problems early and find timely solutions.”
His main pledges are to defend judicial independence, resolve divisions among judges, and ensure a fair workload. For workload he wants a system that counts not just the number of cases but also their complexity and the quality of decisions.
He also calls for greater transparency in career development. Mazgalov wants objective appraisals, clear promotion criteria, and public disclosure of the selection process for administrative heads. He proposes publishing the profiles and criteria for each leadership role ahead of time and weighting the opinions of judges’ general assemblies more heavily.
In personnel policy, Mazgalov believes the same level of transparency should apply to the selection of the Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Prosecutor General. He stresses the need for a system that rewards proven competence and honest competition.
Regarding misconduct, he says the SJC must actively defend judicial independence while also making disciplinary practice predictable and accountable. He says judges should be held responsible when they violate ethical standards, and the SJC should support transparent disciplinary processes.
Mazgalov’s message rings out an urgent call for a SJC that listens, acts decisively, and keeps its decisions open to public scrutiny – a council that judges themselves trust to represent them directly.
