Siyka Mileva, a prosecutor at the Supreme Cassation Prosecutor's Office, told a hearing for Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) candidates from the prosecutors' quota that restoring trust in the council should be one of the main tasks of its next members.
"Real trust is not restored by declarations, but by real results that can be measured," Mileva said. She called for new ways of running the judiciary to give it a new face.
She said the prosecutors' college should be a strategic body that sets policy, studies the system's problems and offers lasting solutions. Her plan rests on the view that a stable staffing policy is one of the main conditions for a strong and effective prosecution service.
Mileva said staffing decisions should be based on professional merit, disciplinary practice should be predictable and consistent, and competitions for posts should be open and held on time. She said the budget and staff should serve the efficiency and quality of the prosecution's work.
In all staffing cases she will press for clear criteria that are known in advance. She also wants secondments limited to genuinely temporary needs of the service.
Mileva also wants a steady dialogue with prosecutors and a good grasp of the real problems they face in practice. Among her aims are a role in staffing decisions based on clear and objective criteria, protecting independence and professionalism, and taking responsibility for decisions that shape the judiciary's future.
She called her candidacy a conscious commitment to strengthening the rule of law and winning back trust in the judiciary. In her view, a public contest for top posts tests both the candidates' professional records and the maturity of public debate.
"This nomination is not a political act, nor a bid to join a party," Mileva said. She described it as a sign of trust from fellow magistrates with proven professional and moral qualities, with whom she has shared the burden and responsibility of prosecutors' work for years.