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2007 Assessment

Bulgaria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Bulgaria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Rule of Law
Indicators		Score
74	Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?	92
75	In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?	100
76	In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?	75
77	Is the judiciary able to act independently?	94
78	Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?	100
79	Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?	89

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?

74a: In law, there is a general right of appeal.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: The Law on Judicial Power

The Constitution, Arts. 120, 121

74b: In practice, appeals are resolved within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: In general, the length of judicial proceedings in Bulgaria is comparable to those in other European countries. In certain areas there are more substantial delays, but aggregate figures do not indicate any gross deviation from average European standards.

References: Report of CLS on the length of judicial proceedings, www.cls-sofia.org

Studies of CEPEJ (a Commission of the Council of Europe)

Peer Review Comments: In many cases, the length of judicial proceedings in Bulgaria is quite prolonged, for which Bulgaria has been criticized by many European and U.S. institutions.

74c: In practice, citizens can use the appeals mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interviews with Jonko Grozev, Centre for Liberal Strategies, Sofia, October-November 2007

In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

75: In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

Score:

100

Comments: The Bulgarian judiciary is quite formalistic in its approach.

References: Studies of the CLS (Sofia) at www.cls-sofia.org.

Interviews with Mila Georgieva, Supreme Prosecutorial Office, October 2007

In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

76: In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

Score:

100

Comments: The private bailiffs and the mixed system of enforcement, which was recently introduced, have improved the enforcement situation to a degree. It is difficult to assess the current situation: there are reports in the media of problems, but it is difficult to say to what extent this is a systemic issue.

Since the problems of enforcement concern mostly civil law matters, the system of private bailiffs should speed up the process and address the enforcement issue.

References: Interviews with Yonko Grozev

Media reports.

Peer Review Comments: Because of media allegations to the contrary, I think it is fair to score this 50/50.

Is the judiciary able to act independently?

77a: In law, the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Chapter 6 of the Constitution

77b: In practice, national-level judges are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: Judges have sufficient mechanisms to be protected from political interference. The Bulgarian Constitution and the Law on Judicial Power provide more than sufficient guarantees regarding fixed terms in office, the impossibility of being removed, functional independence, etc.

References: Judges have sufficient mechanisms to be protected from political interference. The Bulgarian Constitution and the Law on Judicial Power provide more than sufficient guarantees: fixed terms in office, impossibility of being removed, functional independence, etc.

Peer Review Comments: However, national-level judges are elected from among the juridical lobbies of the ruling parties or coalition and inevitably are related to them and their interests.

Peer Review Comments: In law, judges are protected from political interference, but in practice, most of the high-level judges are politically appointed.

77c: In law, there is a transparent and objective system for distributing cases to national-level judges.

Score:

YES

Comments: In most courts there are systems of random allocation of cases to judges.

References: Law on the Judicial Power

77d: In law, national-level judges are protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Constitution also guarantees the mandates of the Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Prosecutor General.

References: Law on Judicial System, various provisions (i.e., Arts. 28-29)

Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?

78a: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been physically harmed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There are no such reports

78b: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been killed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of judges being killed related to their involvement in a corruption case during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a judge was killed because of his/her participation in a corruption trial. The relationship between a mysterious death and a judge\'s involvement in a case may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable assumption that a judge was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments:

References: There are no such cases.

Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?

79a: In practice, judicial decisions are not affected by racial or ethnic bias.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no reliable research on this. The problem is that the population of the Roma, for instance, overlaps with that of the poor, who cannot afford a very good defense in court. In this sense, Bulgaria is hardly an aberration from the common trends for all countries.

References: Interviews with Mila Georgieva, Supreme Prosecutorial Office.

Peer Review Comments: No reliable research on this exists, but still there are some prejudices against Romas. In addition, they cannot afford a very good defense in court because of their poverty.

Peer Review Comments: Judicial decisions are not affected by any racial or other ethnic bias. As stated by the reviewer, some of the ethnic minority may not have enough resources to afford a good defense, but this does not mean that the judiciary is biased against them.

79b: In practice, women have full access to the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interviews with Mila Georgieva, Suprme Prosecutorial Office

79c: In law, the state provides legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Legal Aid Law, effective since 2006

79d: In practice, the state provides adequate legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

100

Comments: Many experts criticize the existing system for underfunding.

References: Interviews with Yonko Grozev, CLS, October, 2007

79e: In practice, citizens earning the median yearly income can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments: All experts agree on this issue. Citizens who cannot afford to pay for services can resort to state legal aid.

References: Bureau for state legal aid, [ LINK ]

NGO monitoring of judicial reform in Bulgaria, [ LINK ]

79f: In practice, a typical small retail business can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments: In my opinion the costs of legal proceedings in Bulgaria, including the lawyer's fees, is not prohibitive. It is rather the quality and the length of the proceedings that have a more serious deterring effect.

References: Interviews with Veselin Paskalev, lawyer, October 2007

79g: In practice, all citizens have access to a court of law, regardless of geographic location.

Score:

100

Comments:

References: Interviews with Yonko Grozev, CLS, October 2007