Meeting – Discussion with Zinaida Zlatanova, Vice Premier and Minister of Justice

Zinaida Zlatanova, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice delivered a public speech at the university on the Judicial Reforms and the Necessary Changes in the Penal Policy of the Republic of Bulgaria. At the Ceremonial Hall attended students of Law from the UNWE, St. Climent Ohridski University of Sofia, New Bulgarian University and the Free University of Varna. The meeting-discussion was organized by the Themis Union for Legal Development and in it took part also Prof. Dr. Hristina Balabanova, Dean of the Legal Faculty, Diana Vakarelska, Director of the Justice Directorate and Maria Filipova, expert at the Ministry of Justice.

Zinaida Zlatanova (in the middle) with Diana Vakarelska and Maria Filipova, on the left: Vasil Vasilev and Dimitar Yanev, representatives of Themis Union for Legal Development

Zinaida Zlatanova pointed out that the invitation to visit the UNWE had been the best one she had ever received so she had accepted it with a great pleasure. “In the beginning of the mandate it was very important to me to be made the partitioning line, the separation of the powers, pointed out in her lecture the Minister. She outlined that there had no longer been any indications of intervention in the pre-trial system and reminded that our country had been monitored so she was clear that the times of imposing changes from the outside had been gone forever.

The Vice Premier examined the so called e-justice emphasizing on its ultimate goal - to be relied also on the digital content not only on the paper one. The meaning of digitization is to be improved the transparency by the general electronic management of the judiciary. It includes a random allocation of cases, general filing system, accessible services to the citizens and even electronic submission of appeals in the Court.

During the meeting at the Ceremonial Hall

The number of students of Law in Bulgaria is about 11 500, pointed out Zlatanova. She declared that it had been discussed the idea of assessing the ??theoretical and practical aptitude test on a six point marking system. According to her it would give an indication of educational quality in different faculties. Among the ideas is also the standardization of the requirements for state exams prior the aptitude test. “It is also an issue on which have to be worked with the Ministry of Education and Science and separate faculties.” Zlatanova expressed her confidence that the students of Law had been convinced in the truth about the judiciary as the ultimate guardian of the rule of law in the legal state.

Zinaida Zlatanova

Students asked some questions related to the dividing of the Supreme Judicial Council into two chambers, money for the judiciary and penal policy. Bulgaria spends the most part of the money as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product for its judicial system, cited a research Zinaida Zlatanova. It means that we as a society have spent the maximum amount of money for the judiciary, said the Minister and reminded that she had appealed to the members of the Supreme Judicial Court for understanding about the wage costs.

Before her lecture to students Zinaida Zlatanova met and had a conversation with the Rector of UNWE Prof. D.Sc. (Econ.) Statty Stattev.

The Rector awarded to Zinaida Zlatanova a crystal cube. In it was engraved a figure of the monument of Stefan Bobchev, founder and first Rector of UNWE.