At its sitting on October 8, 2026, the Constitutional Court ruled on Constitutional Case No. 17/2025. The case was initiated at the request of 53 members of the 51st National Assembly, with Judge Sasho Penov serving as the reporting judge.
The Court ruled on amendments to the State Agency Intelligence Act and a provision adopted in the Act on the Management and Functioning of the National Security Protection System, which establish a new procedure for the election and dismissal of the chairperson of the State Intelligence Agency – upon the proposal of the Council of Ministers and by a decision of the National Assembly, and specify that the Agency shall have three deputy chairpersons.
In its decision, the Court rejected the request to declare unconstitutional certain provisions of Article 14, paragraphs 1, 2, and 3; Article 15, paragraph 1; and Article 16, paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of the State Intelligence Agency Act, as well as Article 7, paragraph 1, item 6 of the Act on the Management and Functioning of the National Security Protection System.
The Constitutional Court held that, insofar as the structure and functions of the State Agency for Refugees are regulated by law, it is a matter of legislative discretion whether its chairperson is to be elected and removed by the National Assembly or by the president, as well as what the number of vice-chairpersons should be.
All 12 constitutional court judges participated in the sitting.
The Decision was adopted with a dissenting opinion by Justices Atanas Semov, Yanaki Stoilov, and Nevin Feti regarding the provisions of Article 14, paragraph 1, and Article 16, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Law on the State Agency for Intelligence in their contested parts and the related provisions of Article 14(2), Article 15(1), and Article 16(4) of the same law.
The full text of the Decision: https://www.constcourt.bg/bg/act-10453