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2008 Assessment

Bulgaria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bulgaria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: National Ombudsman
Indicators		Score
55	Is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?	100
56	Is the national ombudsman effective?	89
57	Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?	100

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

55: In law, is there a national ombudsman, public protector or equivalent agency (or collection of agencies) covering the entire public sector?

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Ombudsman Act : [ LINK ]

Is the national ombudsman effective?

56a: In law, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments: Parliament elects the ombudsman, but his or her office is a fully independent structure of the executive and legislative branches.

References: Ombudsman Act: [ LINK ]

56b: In practice, the ombudsman is protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: The ombudsman is elected for a five-year term and cannot be removed by the Parliament without serious justification. In practice, this procedure guarantees a high level of protection from ungrounded dismissal of the ombudsman. There were no publicly known cases of political interference in the work of the ombudsman (during the survey period).

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

56c: In practice, the head of the ombudsman agency/entity is protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

56d: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

56e: In practice, agency appointments support the independence of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

Comments: The ombudsman independently appoints the staff members working for the ombudsman's office. Generally, appointments made support the independence of its institutions. Some staff members have had clear political affiliations in the past, but they represent different political parties.

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

56f: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) receives regular funding.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

56g: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) makes publicly available reports.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Reports at the website of the ombudsman: [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The Ombudsman annually presents the institution's report before the Parliament.

56h: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) initiates investigations.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: The agency aggressively starts investigations -- or participates fully with cooperating agencies\' investigations -- into judicial misconduct. The agency is fair in its application of this power. <p>50 Score Criteria: The agency will start or cooperate in investigations, but often relies on external pressure to set priorities, or has limited effectiveness when investigating. The agency, though limited in effectiveness, is still fair in its application of power. <p>0 Score Criteria: The agency rarely investigates on its own or cooperates in other agencies\' investigations, or the agency is partisan in its application of this power.$

Comments: The very idea, as understood and developed in the Law on the Ombudsman, is that the ombudsman should collect citizens' complaints, and approach the responsible institutions with requests to initiate investigations or address the issues concerned. So, the very nature of the ombudsman institution does not include investigative powers and activities. The ombudsman does initiate checks, but many of them are irrelevant in regards to corruption. In law, he can only approach other institutions with information about irregularities discovered. Some experts believe that so far, the ombudsman has not addressed some of the major problems in Bulgaria.

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

56i: In practice, when necessary, the national ombudsman (or equivalent agency or agencies) imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: In most cases, the ombudsman does what he is supposed to do according to the law. However, he has no legal powers to impose penalties.

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

Peer Review Comments: According to the law, the ombudsman cannot impose penalties. He can only report the alleged crimes to the prosecutor.

56j: In practice, the government acts on the findings of the ombudsman agency (or agencies).

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Ombudsman\'s reports are taken seriously, with negative findings drawing prompt corrective action. <p>50 Score Criteria: In most cases, ombudsman\'s reports are acted on, though some exceptions may occur for politically sensitive issues, or particularly resistant agencies. <p>0 Score Criteria: Ombudsman\'s reports are often ignored, or given superficial attention. Ombudsman's reports do not lead to policy changes.$

Comments: There is no independent study on the topic.

References: Interview with Svetoslav Georgiev, director of the Institute for Public Environment Development, Sofia, September 12, 2008.

Peer Review Comments: Yes, some regulations on the services (regarding heat and electric power) that are provided to citizens have been changed under pressure from the Ombudsman. For the last two years, the Constitutional Court rejected seven regulations and articles of some legislative acts thanks to the Ombudsman's initiative.

56k: In practice, the ombudsman agency (or agencies) acts on citizen complaints within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no independent study on the topic.

References: Reports at the website of the ombudsman: [ LINK ]

Can citizens access the reports of the ombudsman?

57a: In law, citizens can access reports of the ombudsman(s).

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Ombudsman Act (Article 22): [ LINK ]

57b: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Reports are available online.

References: Reports at the website of the ombudsman: [ LINK ]

57c: In practice, citizens can access the reports of the ombudsman(s) at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: Reports are available online.

References: Reports at the website of the ombudsman: [ LINK ]