Bulgaria
The following Justice Initiative projects are underway in, or relevant to, Bulgaria:
National Criminal Justice Reform
Bulgaria: Access to Justice
A pilot public defender model of legal aid provision for criminal cases is underway in the Bulgarian judicial district of Veliko Turnovo, as an alternative to the present system of ex officio-assigned counsel. This project aims to establish criteria for measuring the quality and cost-efficiency of criminal legal aid services, propose mechanisms for assessing the material status of defendants and accused persons; and give young lawyers an opportunity to develop skills in criminal defense advocacy. A longer-term objective is to encourage reform of the legal aid system as a whole, with a view to improving its financing and administration through the creation of a legal aid management board.
Bulgaria: Promoting Prosecutorial Accountability
A comparative study of prosecutorial systems in ten countries has been undertaken to provide impetus for reform of the Bulgarian Prosecutor General’s office and to act as a catalyst in bringing about a more accountable and transparent prosecution service. This will be achieved by developing well-researched recommendations on how such a reform process should proceed and on what criteria it can be based. The recommendations will be shaped by Bulgarian actors so as to inform the local decision process in an appropriate and contextualized manner.
Freedom of Information and Expression
Bulgaria: Appealing to the Authorities
Since the enactment of the Bulgarian law on access to information in July 2000, thousands of requests for information have been filed by the public, some leading to court intervention. Gergana Jouleva on the new law in action.
Regional: Freedom of Information Adoption Strategy session
On 10 November 2002, a one-day meeting of FOI groups was organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative and Article 19 in Skopje, Macedonia, in order to develop strategies for furthering freedom of information goals in the southeast European region. Participants presented the current situation regarding the adoption of freedom of information laws in each country/territory. It was noted that although many countries have constitutional provisions on the right to information (Croatia, Serbia, and Macedonia), governments give a low priority to adopting the legislation needed to make the provision operational. Furthermore, there tends to be widespread confusion between “Public Information” (mass media) laws and access to information (FOI) laws. NGO representatives from countries with FOI laws (Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia) were invited to (and attended) a regional meeting in Zagreb in March 2003, to share their experiences of campaigning for the adoption of these laws.
Regional: Freedom of Information Law Implementation, Legal Advice, Litigation and Monitoring Tool
Justice Initiative FOI implementation projects include legal advice and litigation in Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Peru. Litigation challenging government refusals to provide requested information has been a traditional tool of activists interested in making freedom of information laws work in countries that have them. The Justice Initiative is currently working with partners to provide legal advice and pursue litigation in Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania and Peru. The Justice Initiative has developed an “Access to Information Monitoring Tool” which permits evaluation of national FOI law implementation and comparative assessment between countries. This instrument is currently being tested in a pilot project encompassing Armenia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Peru and South Africa.
Bulgaria Freedom of Expression: Defamation Law Reform
Kassabova Case
Equality and Citizenship
Bulgaria: Justice Initiative files legal brief in ECHR Nachova case
November 8, 2004—The Justice Initiative filed written comments with the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on November 2, in the case of Nachova and others v. Bulgaria. The case, which concerns the killing of two Roma men by military police, is of great significance for the development and application of legal norms concerning racial discrimination and violence. Also read The Strasbourg Court's Finding of Race Discrimination in Nachova v. Bulgaria.