EUROPEAN COMMISSION URGES BULGARIA TO SHOW RESULTS FROM THE STRATEGIES

The European Commission urges Bulgaria to show results in the area of the judicial reform and in the fight against corruption and organized crime. The annual report issued on 27th of January is in the context of the Co-operation and Verification mechanism and shows the progress Bulgaria has made against the established benchmarks in the past 12 months.

The report positively assesses the amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution related to the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), the election of a Chief Inspector, the adopted strategy for judicial reform, the preparation of amendments to the criminal code and the criminal procedure code and the attempt to address the imbalances in workload between courts.

The report makes a negative assessment on the appointment procedures in the SJC and that serious allegations of corruption and trading of influence in the judiciary have only been followed up after internal and external pressure.

The report recommends the judicial reform to continue, setting of clear disciplinary standards and deeper reform of the prosecution. So far the outcome remains limited in terms of final convictions in high-level corruption cases, the text says.

As regards the fight against corruption, the report positively assesses the adoption of the relevant strategy, but makes a negative comment on the rejection of the draft anti-corruption law. The recommendation is Bulgaria to go ahead with the re submission and adoption of the law and to achieve specific results in the investigation and prosecution of high-level corruption.

In the section regarding the fight against organized crime, the report says that the specialised court and prosecutor's office begins to produce some results in terms of cases being brought to court as well as a number of convictions. Amendments has been made to the criminal procedural code to address problems with regard to criminals absconding. The law on confiscation of criminal assets has been amended. However, the report notes that cases involving serious organised crime continue to be hampered by complex provisions and formalistic criminal procedures, that there remain indications of serious intimidation of witnesses and that a large number of contract killings remain unsolved.

The report concludes that the two strategies on the judicial reform and the fight against corruption represent a detailed blueprint for action, but the translation of these strategies into concrete and tangible progress will be a major challenge for 2016. Among the conclusions is that Bulgaria should follow the recommendations of the European Court of Human Rights in terms of carrying out effective investigation of wrongdoings.

“In regard to judicial independence, it has been encouraging to see Bulgarian judges speaking out in public to support the reform of the judiciary”, the report says. It recommends Bulgaria to provide the Judicial Inspectorate (ISJC) with the legal authority and material resources to fulfill its new role in safeguarding integrity and fighting corruption within the judicial system, as well as to provide the conditions for an impartial investigation into the different allegations of high level corruption within the Sofia City Court.

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