Resolution No. 5 of 16 September 2025 on Constitutional Case No. 10/2025
Referring Authority and Subject Matter of the Case
The case was initiated upon a request by Members of Parliament of the 51st National Assembly seeking the establishment of the unconstitutionality of the Decision on the election of a Deputy Chairperson of the National Audit Office - Silvia Rusanova Kadreva, adopted by the National Assembly on 16 May 2025, as well as a declaration of incompatibility in respect of Dimitar Glavchev in his capacity as Chairperson of the Bulgarian National Audit Office, on account of an alleged violation of Article 16, paragraph 1, item 2 of the National Audit Office Act (NAOA).
According to the applicant, the request for establishing the unconstitutionality of the Decision is admissible and well-founded due to its alleged inconsistency with “the principle of the rule of law and the supremacy of law enshrined in Articles 4 and 5 of the Constitution,” as well as with “the principle of effectiveness of oversight bodies (Article 91 in conjunction with Article 4).”
The applicant claims that no evidence was presented to the National Assembly demonstrating that Silvia Kadreva meets the requirements set out in Article 16 of the NAOA, namely possession of higher education with a Master’s degree and not less than 15 years of professional experience in the field of audit, administrative and financial law, financial control, finance, or accounting. This, according to the applicant, constitutes a direct violation of Article 16 of the NAOA and of internationally established standards for holding the office, rendering the contested decision unlawful and, consequently, unconstitutional.
With regard to Dimitar Glavchev, the applicant maintains that there exists an incompatibility for holding the office of Chairperson of the National Audit Office due to a violation of Article 16, paragraph 1, item 2 of the NAOA. Pursuant to that provision, the Chairperson, Deputy Chairpersons and Members of the National Audit Office are to be elected from among persons who have not been bodies of the executive branch within the meaning of Article 19, paragraphs 2 - 4 of the Administration Act during the three years preceding their election, except where they were appointed as caretaker Prime Ministers under Article 99, paragraph 5 of the Constitution. Dimitar Glavchev held the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs in a caretaker government headed by him, which, according to the applicant, qualifies him as a body of the executive branch within the meaning of Article 19, paragraphs 2 - 4 of the Administration Act. No exception is provided for such a body under Article 16, paragraph 3 of the NAOA, unlike the express exception applicable to a person appointed as caretaker Prime Minister pursuant to Article 99, paragraph 5 of the Constitution.
Summary of the Court’s Reasoning
The request by which the Court has been seized, insofar as it seeks the establishment of the unconstitutionality of the Decision of the National Assembly electing a Deputy Chairperson of the National Audit Office, falls within the competence of the Constitutional Court pursuant to Article 149, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Constitution.
The Constitutional Court has not previously ruled, either by decision or by a ruling of inadmissibility, on a request with such a specific subject matter; therefore, the negative procedural prerequisite within the meaning of Article 21, paragraph 6 of the Constitutional Court Act is not present.
The request, insofar as it seeks the establishment of incompatibility in respect of Dimitar Glavchev in holding the public office of Chairperson of the National Audit Office, in connection with his having held the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs in a caretaker government, is inadmissible. The Constitutional Court does not have competence to establish incompatibility of persons holding the office of Chairperson of the National Audit Office. The Constitutional Court has the power to establish incompatibility with regard to Members of Parliament pursuant to Article 72, paragraph 2 in conjunction with paragraph 1, item 3 of the Constitution, and with regard to constitutional judges pursuant to Article 152 of the Constitution in conjunction with Article 12, paragraph 1, item 12 of the Constitutional Court Act. The power to establish incompatibility of a person holding the public office of Chairperson of the National Audit Office has been entrusted by the legislature to the Commission for Counteracting Corruption, pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 1, item 8 of the Counteracting Corruption Act.
The statutory framework established by the legislature with regard to the appointment of the Chairperson of the National Audit Office as “caretaker Prime Minister” pursuant to Article 99, paragraph 5 of the Constitution provides that, upon such appointment, the persons concerned “shall suspend the exercise of their powers only for the period during which they are appointed and, upon their release, shall continue the term of office for which they were elected.” The legislature has not provided for the adoption of a specific act of the National Assembly declaring the exhaustion of such “suspension” and the “continuation of the term of office.” Consequently, there is no act of the National Assembly that could be subject to constitutional review in connection with the alleged incompatibility arising from the “continuation of the term of office” of Dimitar Glavchev as Chairperson of the National Audit Office.
Grounds for the Ruling and Disposition
Pursuant to Article 149, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Constitution (power to rule on requests for establishing the unconstitutionality of laws and other acts of the National Assembly), Article 19 (the Court shall rule on the admissibility of the request), and Article 13 (the Constitutional Court shall determine whether a matter referred to it falls within its jurisdiction) of the Constitutional Court Act, the Constitutional Court admits for consideration on the merits the request of 58 Members of the 51st National Assembly for the establishment of the unconstitutionality of the Decision on the election of a Deputy Chairperson of the National Audit Office - Silvia Rusanova Kadreva, adopted by the National Assembly on 16 May 2025 (State Gazette, No. 42 of 2025); dismisses the request for establishing incompatibility in respect of Dimitar Glavchev in holding the public office of Chairperson of the National Audit Office; and terminates the proceedings in that part.
Председател: Павлина Панова