News

17 June 2026 

Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva sent an opinion to the Chair of the National Assembly  PhD Mihaela Dotsova and to the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs Prof. PhD Yanka Tyankova, regarding the consolidated bill to amend and supplement the Judiciary Act.

In her opinion, Delcheva objects to the proposal that the ombudsman be included among the entities that can initiate procedures for the early dismissal of the Prosecutor General.

“Given the Ombudsman’s constitutional functions and statutory powers, the Ombudsman has no role among the entities that can initiate the early dismissal of the Prosecutor General,” she pointed out.

She notes that the Ombudsman is a human rights institution that stands outside the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. Its primary role is to protect citizens' rights and freedoms and advocate on their behalf in cases of violations by state and municipal authorities, their administrations and public service providers.

The opinion also draws attention to the recommendations of the UN Subcommittee on the Accreditation of National Human Rights Institutions, which in 2025 reaffirmed the Bulgarian Ombudsman’s highest “A” status for a new five-year period. Among the recommendations is that no legal provisions should be allowed that would subject the institution to mechanisms of control or subordination by other state authorities..

According to Velislava Delcheva, the authority provided for by law does not correspond to the constitutional status and purpose of the institution. She emphasises that the Ombudsman Act does not provide for activities that would serve as a basis for forming a well-founded assessment regarding the existence of grounds for proposing the early dismissal of the Prosecutor General.

“Given the nature of the institution as a rights protection body, I do not consider it acceptable to provide for any form of interference in the scope of the judiciary’s activities, in particular to initiate a procedure for the early dismissal of the Prosecutor General,” the Ombudsman said.

In conclusion, Velislava Delcheva calls on members of parliament to consider the arguments presented when discussing and voting on the bill and to remove the proposal to include the Ombudsman among the entities that can initiate a procedure for the early dismissal of the Prosecutor General.