Resolution No. 9 of 11 December 2025 on Constitutional Case No. 5/2025
Referring Authority and Subject Matter of the Case
The case was initiated upon a request by a three-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court on Administrative Case No. 1077/2025 for the establishment of the unconstitutionality of the provisions of Paragraph 16 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act Amending and Supplementing the Judiciary Act (promulgated in State Gazette, Issue No. 6 of 21 January 2025) and of Article 33, paragraph 4 of the Judiciary Act (promulgated in State Gazette, Issue No. 64 of 2007, last supplemented in State Gazette, Issue No. 87 of 2025), on the grounds of alleged inconsistency with Article 1, paragraph 2 (popular sovereignty), Article 4, paragraph 1 (principle of the rule of law), Article 5 (supremacy of the Constitution), Article 8 (separation of powers), Article 117, paragraph 2 (independence of the judiciary), Article 129, paragraph 2 (procedure for the appointment of the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation, the President of the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Prosecutor General), Article 130, paragraph 1 (composition of the Supreme Judicial Council), Article 130a (powers of the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council and of the Judges’ and Prosecutors’ Colleges thereof), and Article 130b (chairing and participation in voting in the Plenum of the Supreme Judicial Council and in its Judges’ and Prosecutors’ Colleges) of the Constitution.
Summary of the Court’s Reasoning
Pursuant to Article 150, paragraph 2 of the Constitution (referral by any court concerning the constitutionality of a law applicable to a case pending before it), the Constitutional Court rules upon a request from a court where the challenged law is applicable to the specific case under consideration by that court.
With the termination of the proceedings before the referring court, the requirement laid down in Article 150, paragraph 2 of the Constitution - namely, the existence of a specific case pending before that court to which the challenged law is applicable - ceases to be fulfilled.
Grounds for the Ruling and Disposition
Pursuant to Article 149, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Constitution (power to rule on requests for the establishment of the unconstitutionality of laws) and Article 19, paragraph 2 of the Constitutional Court Act (return of the request to the submitter by a reasoned ruling in cases of inadmissibility), the Constitutional Court terminates the proceedings instituted upon a request by a panel of the Supreme Administrative Court on Administrative Case No. 1077/2025 for the establishment of the unconstitutionality of the provisions of Paragraph 16 of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act Amending and Supplementing the Judiciary Act (promulgated in State Gazette, Issue No. 6 of 2025) and of Article 33, paragraph 4 of the Judiciary Act (promulgated in State Gazette, Issue No. 64 of 2007, last supplemented in State Gazette, Issue No. 87 of 2025).
The resolution is signed with one dissenting opinion and concurring opinions on the reasoning by two judges.
Председател: Павлина Панова