Resolution No. 1 of 19 January 2016 on Constitutional Case No. 5/2016
Referring Authority and Subject Matter of the Case
The case was initiated upon a request submitted by 74 Members of Parliament from the 43rd National Assembly for a declaration of unconstitutionality of Point I, sub-point 1 of the Resolution of the National Assembly of 10 June 2015 adopting Procedural Rules governing the conditions and procedure for nominating candidates for Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank, the submission and public disclosure of the documents, the hearing of the candidates before the Committee on Budget and Finance, and the procedure for election by the National Assembly (hereinafter referred to as “the Procedural Rules”).
Summary of the Court’s Reasoning
Acts (resolutions) concerning elections under Article 84, item 8 of the Constitution are subject to constitutional review, whereas resolutions of an organizational and technical nature, adopted by the National Assembly and its bodies for the purpose of establishing procedural rules governing the stage of deliberation and preparation of the legal act of election, are not necessarily subject to such review.
Irregularities in the procedure and deficiencies in the preparatory acts are, in themselves, irrelevant to the constitutionality of the final act of election and cannot be examined independently of a challenge to the final act itself - namely, the resolution electing the Governor of the Bulgarian National Bank.
Grounds for the Ruling and Disposition
Pursuant to Article 12, paragraph 1, item 2, Article 13 (the Constitutional Court shall itself determine whether the matter referred to it falls within its jurisdiction), and Article 19 (the Court rules on the admissibility of requests) of the Constitutional Court Act, as well as Article 26 of the Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court (where it finds that a request is inadmissible, the Constitutional Court shall, by a reasoned ruling, dismiss the request and terminate the proceedings; in such cases the request shall be returned to the applicant), the Constitutional Court dismisses the request.