The anti-corruption and professional etiquette commission of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) would start an investigation against the judge of the Pernik regional court, Violeta Licheva, the court announced on December 6.

Licheva was suspected of having run over and killed 61 year-old Y.V. from Pernik on November 28 2007, mediapool.bg said.

On December 6, director of regional police Pernik, commissar Dimitar Sheremetev said Licheva had been visibly drunk when she was brought into the police station. Blood and brain-tissue tests were being done on the victim, he said.

Two cars had driven over the victim, the first was Licheva's jeep, who had fled the scene. The police had been warned by the driver of the second car, who notice he had driven over something. When he saw what it was and what had happened, he warned the police. There were said to have been other witnesses, one of whom had written down the registration number of Licheva's jeep.

Two blood tests had been done. Results from the test by the Institute for criminal law and criminology showed Licheva had a blood alcohol level of 3.08, while the laboratory tests by the regional police in Pernik showed 3.98. The difference between the two was explained by different methods used, Sheremetev said.

SJC said the goal of the examination was to establish if there was sufficient reason to suspend Licheva as judge until an investigation would have been concluded. A decision was expected at the next hearing of the council on December 12 2007.

The council has asked Pernik's regional prosecutor Plamen Naidenov for copies of all documents on the case. Local media said legal proceedings against an unknown perpetrator had already been started.