Radoslav Gradev, a prosecutor at the Ruse District Prosecutor's Office, is running for the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) as a candidate from the prosecutors' quota. If elected, "I will defend the rightful place of the prosecution service in the judiciary," he said.

Gradev has more than 24 years of experience as a prosecutor. He says it has shown him the weak points of the system. As an SJC member, he will work to improve how the council does its job, keep good practices and fix its main problems.

His programme calls for firm resistance to any attempt to take the prosecution service out of the judiciary. He says such a change would directly and harshly damage the independence of every magistrate, of the prosecution service and of the judiciary as a whole, and to the highest degree.

Gradev promises to defend the independence of the judiciary in all cases and to give clear, well-reasoned opinions. His programme says: "The independence of the judiciary must be defended boldly, firmly and without compromise."

The candidate believes trust in the judiciary, and most of all in the prosecution service, can be restored. He says this takes steady action and an end to the clashes between institutions.

Gradev says the SJC has no legal power of its own in the law-making process, but it can have a positive influence by giving well-reasoned opinions on all bills that affect the judiciary. When laws need to change, he says, it would be very useful if the council put forward a solution.