Changes to Bulgaria's court system should rest on expert analysis and should not target individual judges or prosecutors, says Hristo Anchev, a candidate for the prosecutors' quota on the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).
Anchev is administrative head of the Military District Prosecutor's Office in Plovdiv. His plan focuses on an independent judiciary, better hiring and promotion rules, and more openness in the SJC's work.
The plan's main priorities are faster and fairer performance reviews and competitions for judges and prosecutors. Anchev proposes to decentralise the competitions for promotion and transfer, and to apply the same practice in all disciplinary cases.
He wants more predictable career paths for judges and prosecutors, decent pay and steps to ease their workload. He also backs keeping the SJC as a standing body.
He says the judiciary needs active dialogue with parliament and the government, and better communication with the media. Judges and prosecutors should also help draft legal changes, he says.
Anchev believes judges and prosecutors now have more chance than ever to vote without fear that the secrecy of the ballot will be breached. He says this is his second reason for agreeing to run.