Bulgaria Constitutional Court sides with caretaker Cabinet in executive powers dispute
Bulgaria’s Constitutional Court ruled on May 14 that the country’s National Assembly exceeded its powers in ordering the caretaker Cabinet of Andrey Gyurov to take “measures against the price shock from high oil and natural gas prices”.
The National Assembly passed its resolution, prompted by rising prices following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, even though the Gyurov administration had already set up an interdepartmental commission on the issue and had announced possible measures to aid vulnerable groups, which it later activated.
Gyurov’s caretaker government argued that the National Assembly’s resolution was institutional overreach and asked the court to overturn it.
Parliament’s decision, voted on March 13, was outside the powers granted to it by the Constitution and legal framework of the budget process, the court said.
The resolution breached the principle of separation of legislative and executive powers, while exceeding its budgetary process powers, which are limited to approving a budget, but not overseeing how it is spent, which is the prerogative of the executive branch, the court said.
The court said that its decision on the subject was unanimous.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
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