EN    EN EN 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 20.7.2010 
SEC(2010) 948 
  
SUPPORTING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying the 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIA MENT AND THE COUNCIL 
 
On Progress in Bulgaria under the Co-o peration and Verification Mechanism 
   
BULGARIA: Technical Update  
{COM(2010) 400 final} 
EN 2   EN TABLE OF CONTENTS 
1. Benchmark 1: Adopt Constitutional amendments removing any ambiguity regarding the 
independence and accountability of the judicial system.............................................. 4 
• The National Assembly to adopt amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution  
• The National Assembly to make necessary  changes to the Judicial System Act 
• The Inspectorate to be set up and functioning, first results to be published and evaluated 
2. Benchmark 2: Ensure a more transparent and efficient judicial process by adopting 
and implementing a new judicial system act and the new civil procedure code. 
Report on the impact of these new laws  and of the penal and administrative 
procedure codes, notably on the pre-trial phase........................................................... 6 
• Adopt the new Civil Procedure Code 
• Adopt the new Judicial System Act reflecting the amendments to the Constitution  
and the recommendations of the peer review experts 
• Establish a monitoring system for all new codes 
• Report at regular intervals on the findings of this monitoring process, notably as regards the pre-
trial phase, the execution of  judgements and sentences 
• Amend the relevant codes and legislation if necessary 
3. Benchmark 3: Continue the reform of  the judiciary in order to enhance 
professionalism, accountability and efficienc y. Evaluate the impact of this reform 
and publish the results annually ................................................................................... 7 
• Establish a transparent and fully functioning decision making process on disciplinary 
investigations by the future Inspectorate with the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) 
• Ensure complete and overarching application of the Code of Ethics for magistrates, especially 
procedures for review, investigation and dismissal/prosecution for violations 
• Monitor the application of the system of competitive examination for recruitment and performance 
evaluation of magistrates 
• Annually publish findings of the evaluation of the reform of the judicial system, in particular on 
how specific problems related to professiona lism; accountability and efficiency have been 
addressed 
• Introduce random case handling software in the prosecution services 
• Enhance the training on the implication of these new laws 
4. Benchmark 4: Conduct and report on professi onal, non-partisan investigations b into 
allegations of high-level corruption. Re port on internal insp ections of public 
institutions and on the publication of  assets of high-level officials........................... 11 
• Associate Member States' experts to provide assistance and guidance as regards improving the 
quality of investigations and reporting on this 
• Streamline and coordinate the institutional set-up of bodies empowered to fight corruption 
• Establish administrative arrangements to safeguard whistle-blowers  
• Implement fully the legislation on the independence of the inspectorates in the public 
administration and ensure more pro-activeness in their investigative role 
• Report on the implementation of measures taken to prevent and fight influence in the investigation 
and prosecuting entities, in particular sustain ca ses of suspension/dismissal/initiation of criminal 
proceedings against alleged corrupt law enforcement bodies 
• Ensure the establishment of a credible checking mechanism for asset declarations as well as 
effective sanctions in case of false or inaccurate declarations 
5. Benchmark 5: Take further measures to pr event and fight corrupti on, in particular at 
the borders and within  local government ................................................................... 12 
• Implement disciplinary sanctions and a policy of zero-tolerance, particularly in the Veterinary 
Service, customs, the Road Executive Agency and other relevant services 
• Establish electronic payment systems and a system of  shifts at random for officers employed at the 
borders 
EN 3   EN • Conduct at regular intervals audits and checks, publish the findings and ensure their follow-up 
• Report on investigations into inexplicable wealth 
6. Benchmark 6: Implement a strategy to fi ght organised crime, focussing on serious 
crime, money laundering as well as on th e systematic confisca tion of assets of 
criminals. Report on new and ongoing investig ations, indictments and convictions in 
these areas .................................................................................................................. 14  
• Associate Member States' experts to provide guidance and assistance as regards improving the 
quality of investigations and reporting on this 
• Hand over an action plan to implement the strategy to fight organised crime and implement it with 
reports at regular intervals 
• Fully implement relevant legislation on confiscation of assets of criminals 
• Report regularly and audit internally the new and on-going investigations, indictments and 
convictions 
• Implement the new legislation to combat money laundering 
Note:  
Under each of the six benchmarks, several issues of particular concern were mu tually agreed when the 
Cooperation and Verification Mechanism was created in  December 2006. These issues are listed above. You 
may consult previous reports at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/secretariat_general/cvm/index_en.htm  
EN 4   EN 1. B ENCHMARK 1: ADOPT CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS REMOVING ANY 
AMBIGUITY REGARDING THE INDEPEND ENCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE 
JUDICIAL SYSTEM  
During the period of two and a half years of  existence, the Inspectorate has inspected 
all courts in four out of five appellate regions; na mely Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo, 
Varna and Plovdiv.1 By the end of 2010 the Inspectorate plans to complete the 
scheduled inspections  of all the judicial bodies in Bulgaria. A number of thematic 
and ad hoc inspections  targeted specific subjects of concern2 and recommendations 
were issued thereupon. 
On the basis of inspections carried out so far, the Inspectorate established an 
overview of the situation within the judici ary in Bulgaria and identified courts and 
prosecution offices which warrant improveme nt. In cases where shortcomings were 
identified, the Inspectorate issued recommendations and followed up on compliance. The joint working group of the Supreme J udicial Council (SJC) a nd the Inspectorate 
established in December 2009 was instrumental in ensuring follow-up to the recommendations of the Inspectorate a nd contributed to harmonising disciplinary 
practice. In February 2010, the joint group was institutionalized as a Commission on 
the Analysis and Follow-up to the ISJC recommendations. The Commission oversees 
the implementation of the measures re commended by the ISJC in reference to 
scheduled inspections , thematic inspections  as well as ad-hoc inspections  initiated 
upon signals. Based on the findings of the ISJC's inspections in the appellate regions, 
the Commission suggests measures, w hose application is controlled by follow-up 
inspections . The increase in a number of follow- up inspections focused on qualitative 
analysis of court's work is commendable.  The efforts to ensure follow-up to the 
findings of the ISJC respond to the Eu ropean Commission's recommendation and 
should be continued. 
The Inspectorate reports tangible improve ments in courts where the Inspectorate's 
recommendations have been applied by th e administrative heads. The policy of 
notifying the main findings and recommenda tions to the Supreme Judicial Council 
and other relevant judicial  bodies (in addition to c ourts and prosecution offices 
concerned) aims to unify and enhance prof essional standards within the judiciary. 
During the reporting period,
3 46 disciplinary proceedings were initiated by the 
Supreme Judicial Council, out of which 6 were proposed by the Inspectorate, 10 by 
the respective administrative head s and 30 by the SJC members.  
Bulgaria reports a total of 70 proceedi ngs completed in th e reporting period.4 This 
comprises 32 disciplinary proceedings in itiated before Augus t 2009.Disciplinary 
                                                 
1 In the reporting period, the Inspectorate carried out scheduled inspections  of the Criminal Division of 
the Sofia Appellate Court, the Pl ovdiv Appellate Region, the Pazar dzhik District Court, Smolyan 
District and Regional Courts. Th e following inspections were under way: the Sofia Regional Court, 
Civil College of the Sofia City Court, Varna Appellate, District and Regional Courts, Vidin District and 
Regional Courts, Belogradchik and Kula Regional Courts.  
2 Examples of thematic inspections include: management, organisation and administration of judicial 
bodies; control by administrative heads of correct application of new legislative provisions; non-unitary 
application of certain provisions of the Civil Procedure Code; enforcement order proceedings. 
3 August 2009 – May 2010. For any other periods referred in this report, precise dates are provided. 
4 Bulgaria reports the following disciplinary sanctions in cases completed in the reporting period: 
disciplinary dismissals (8 cases), dismissals from the position of administrative heads (5 magistrates), 
EN 5   EN measures are decided by disciplinary pa nels composed of randomly selected SJC 
members. They are based on individualised assessment and can be appealed before the Supreme Administrative Court.  
2. B
ENCHMARK 2: ENSURE A MORE TRANSPARENT AND EFFICIENT JUDICIAL 
PROCESS BY ADOPTING AND IMPLEMENTING A NEW JUDICIAL SYSTEM ACT AND 
THE NEW CIVIL PROCEDURE CODE . REPORT ON THE IMPACT OF THESE NEW LAWS 
AND OF THE PENAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE CODES , NOTABLY ON THE 
PRE- TRIAL PHASE  
Bulgaria introduced amendments to the  Penal Procedure Code  (PPC) with a view to 
enhancing the efficiency of the penal pro cedure, in response to a recommendation by 
the Commission of July 2009. The amendments, submitted to the National Assembly in November 2009, were adopted in April 2010 and entered into force on 28 May 2010.
5  
The amendments to the PPC aim to si mplify the penal procedure, reduce its 
excessive formalism and improve the celerity  of judicial proceedings. One of the 
amendments provides a possibility to appoi nt a reserve defence counsel when the 
defendant's lawyer cannot be present at a hearing.6 This amendment is designed to 
prevent undue delays in heari ngs and can be applied by cour ts if there is an interest 
to carry out hearings within the stipulated deadlines. First instan ces of application of 
this procedure in cases of high public intere st have been reported  following its entry 
into force on 28 May. 
The revised PPC extended certain investig ative powers to police officers. Data 
collected under the Special Intelligence  Means Act, witness testimonies and 
statements by defendants made before a defe nce counsel at the pre-trial phase as well 
as evidence collected by the European Anti-Fraud Office have become admissible evidence. Another amendment introduced the possibility (unde r certain conditions) 
to conduct hearings of witnesses by means of videoconf erence or telephone 
conference. 
The new PPC streamlines the pre-trial phas e. Under the current  provisions, police 
officers submit collected evidence to the i nvestigative police o fficers and notify the 
public prosecutor. The requirement of a su fficient level of evidence has been 
abolished. In addition, the reporting pro cedure was simplified by eliminating the 
requirement for police to draw up a conclu sion on the investigation. Prosecutors are 
now entitled to challenge the referral of cases back to the pre-trial phase. 
The revised PPC also enhances the right s of the parties in trial by including  the right 
of defendants to receive tran slations of the main documents and extending the rights 
of victims in pre-trial proceedings. The revised PPC introduced the possibility for 
                                                                                                                                                        
 
reduction of remuneration (11 cases), demotion in rank  (17 magistrates), referral to administrative head 
for sanction (14 cases) which resulted in 31 orders by administrative heads for admonition, reprimand 
or censure of magistrates. 1 proceeding was terminated. 
5 Three provisions regarding the creation of a reserve defence counsel, evidence from unidentified 
witnesses, eliminating the judicial review of inves tigations exceeding 1-2 year s were challenged at the 
Constitutional Court. The fact that the Constitutional Court has not yet pronounce a sentence did not have an impact on the entry into force of the provisions concerned. 
6 Article 94 paras 9.4, 9.5, 9.5  of the PPC stipulate the procedural modalities for the appointment of a 
reserve defence counsel (a defendant can choose a re serve lawyer from a list provided by the court). 
EN 6   EN witness' testimonies of minors to be read  out without the mandatory requirement for 
them to be examined at trial phase as we ll as a number of additional guarantees for 
the protection of under-cover agen ts and anonymous witnesses. 
The above mentioned provisions address to a certain extent con cerns regarding the 
administration of evidence in Bulgaria. The excessive formalism of the penal 
procedure is reduced but not eliminated. Fo r example, spontaneous declarations of 
witnesses before the police, the investigati ng authority or a prosecutor have no value 
if not delivered in front of the accused party and its defence counsel or a judge. Such a requirement can create significant diffi culties in cases involving numerous 
witnesses and defendants.  
Bulgaria reports that the expedited procedure and plea bargaining  contributed to 
quicker completion of judicial proceedings. Plea bargaining is re portedly used more 
frequently than the expedited procedure. In the revised Penal Procedure Code, the 
provision excluding from the field of app lication of the expedited procedure in 
relation to crimes resulting in death or se rious bodily injury or committed in a state 
of alcoholic intoxication (i ntroduced in 2009) has been revoked. If the defendant 
confesses and the court decide s to apply the expedited pro cedure, the cour t is obliged 
to apply a penalty range reduced by one third.
7 In cases of serious crimes (e.g. 
murder), this may lead to imposing sanc tions which do not correspond to the social 
danger of the committed crime. Bulgaria s hould continue to monitor and assess the 
implementation and impact of the new provisions.  
The monitoring system  for the Penal , Civil and Administrative Procedure Codes is 
based mainly on thematic inspections. Between July 2009 and May 2010 the Inspectorate to the Ministry of Justice in spected 10 courts on implementation of the 
Penal Procedure Code  regarding the duration of the trial phase in corruption cases 
and judicial practice. Close monitoring of the effective implementation of the 
amended Penal Procedure Code provisions, which entered into force on 28 May 
2010, will need to be further ensured. For the same period, the Inspectorate 
completed thematic inspections in 6 courts, 8 enforcement offices and 2 private enforcement agents on the application of the Civil Procedure Code  with respect to 
first instance proceedings, precautionary proceedings,  enforcement proceedings and 
compulsory enforcement and in 4 courts on the application of the Administrative 
Procedure Code . As a follow-up to the inspections,  amendments to the Civil 
Procedure Code and the Ordinance on the sa mples of documents used by courts were 
proposed.  
A draft act amending the Administrative Procedure Code  has been prepared for 
submission to the Council of Minister s and adoption by the Parliament. The 
amendments include reattribution of firs t-instance jurisdiction in a number of 
administrative cases from the Supreme Administrative Court to the district administrative courts and other changes in jurisdiction of appeals. These amendments will contribute to balancing the workload  between the Supreme Administrative Court 
and the 28 district administrative courts. 
Bulgaria prepared important draft amendments to the Judicial System Act .
8 The key 
amendments refer to the status, appraisal and appointments of judges and 
                                                 
7 Article 58a of the Penal Code and Article 373 Penal Procedure Code on expedited procedure. 
8 The draft amendments are yet to be adopted by the Council of Ministers and will be subsequently 
forwarded to the Parliament. 
EN 7   EN prosecutors.9 The draft amendments strengthen the responsibilities of the SJC in 
ensuring transparency and accountability of  the judicial system. The amendments 
include proposals for supplementing the f unctions and powers of judiciary bodies, 
including the Supreme Judicial Council, it s Inspectorate as well as the Inspectorate 
within the Ministry of Justice. 
Bulgaria started to address the Commissi on's recommendation by taking steps to 
enhance the unification of ju risprudence, notably by regular publication of 
interpretative rulings of the Supreme Cassation Court (SCC) and the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC)
10 and of the SCC's bulletin containing all interpretative 
rulings and judgments of the respective pa nels. In addition, re gular meetings on 
issues related to the unifica tion of jurisprudence and trainings for judges are being 
pursued.  To maximise the impact of the newly amended PPC, it will be important to 
accompany the legislative reform with a wi de range of non-legislative measures, 
such as drafting guidelines or providi ng trainings for judges and prosecutors. 
Furthermore, a broad dissemination of inte rpretative decisions of the SCC and the 
SAC will be necessary.  The introduction of the Central Web-based interface for 
publishing judicial acts  will be of added value in harmonising jurisprudence. An 
effective control system will need to be put  in place to ensure timely publication of 
all court decisions.  
In April 2010, Bulgaria introduced some ame ndments to the Penal Code to ensure 
compliance with the amended provisions of the Procedural Code. Some steps were 
taken to prepare the reform of the Penal Code. On 23 June, the Government adopted 
a new Concept on Penal Policy. A working group entrusted with preparation of an overall revision has been set up and held se veral meetings. The Government sees the 
revision of the Penal Code as a long-term process. It should be backed by a broad 
public consultation and enjoy a wide public and political support. A revision of penal 
policy, including the modernisation of the Penal Code and a differentiation between 
criminal offences, is nonetheless urge nt and has been recommended in the 
Commission's July 2009 report.  
3. B
ENCHMARK 3: CONTINUE THE REFORM OF THE JUDICIARY IN ORDER TO ENHANCE 
PROFESSIONALISM , ACCOUNTABILITY AND EFFICIENCY . EVALUATE THE IMPACT OF 
THIS REFORM AND PUBLISH THE RESULTS ANNUALLY  
On 23 June, the Bulgarian Government adopted a Strategy to continue Judicial 
Reform  in the conditions of full EU membership . The Strategy sets an ambitious and 
comprehensive vision for reform of the judiciary and builds upon measures taken 
earlier. While acknowledging the existing shor tcomings of judicial practice, the 
Strategy draws special attention to institutional strengthening and mobilisation of the capacity of the judiciary to improve the quali ty of justice and the efficiency of the 
system. The strategy focuses on three prio rity objectives: bette r management and 
good governance within the judiciary, plac ing the citizens in the centre and 
countering corruption in the judicial system . The priorities outlined in the Strategy 
                                                
 
9 More details provided under Benchmark 3. 
10 Since August 2009, the SCC has issued five interpretive rulings and has initiated seven further 
interpretive cases. Over the same period the SAC issued four interpretative rulings. Four other cases 
have been initiated. 
EN 8   EN will be implemented through a set of measures to be defined in a detailed Action 
Plan.  
The Strategy received broad support of politicians, the ju diciary and civil society. 
The success of reform will depend on its e ffective implementation by all institutions 
involved. A swift elaboration and implemen tation of an Action Plan accompanied by 
appropriate monitoring and evaluation mech anisms will be important to the success 
of the Strategy. 
Bulgaria took measures to streamline th e process of apprai sal of judges and 
prosecutors. These steps go in line with the measures recommended by the Commission in July 2009. It introduced sp ecific performance indicators to the 
existing appraisal system , strengthened the central ro le of the SJC's Commission for 
Proposals and Appraisal (CPA) and introduced a functional separation of appraisal of 
judges and prosecutors. The evaluating commissions take into account feedback on the performance of the magistrates concer ned and are obliged to  take into account 
ISJC findings regarding their performance.  The appointment and appraisal decisions 
will be made through an open vote and supported by a motivation. Members of the SJC will be excluded from voting on matters where they could be in conflict of interest. Entrusting an overview of the appr aisal to a single central body (the SJC) 
and issuing guidelines on the numerical marking will play an important role in achieving a uniform applica tion of the assessment.  
To enhance the transparency and professionalism of the appointments  to senior 
positions, the SJC initiated enquiries regardin g all signals concerning participants in 
competitions for administrative heads. The SJC now requests written motivations from candidates who apply for administrative heads' positions at own initiative and reasoned opinions on candidate s supported by other magistrate s. It is too early to 
assess the implementation of this  new approach in practice. 
The Ordinance adopted by the SJC and the dr aft amendments to the Judicial System 
Act will contribute to impr oving the objectivity and transpar ency of the appraisal and 
appointment procedures. The results of puttin g new procedures in place will have to 
be closely monitored in future. 
Other draft amendments to the JSA introduce changes in the organisational structure 
of the courts and the prosecution offices. The SJC will be charged with preparing an annual analysis of workload in courts and prosecution offices and on this basis take 
measures to re-balance personne l schemes or even close so me courts or prosecutors 
offices with insufficient workload. The already ongoing initiativ e to analyse and 
evaluate the workload in courts and prosecution offices constitutes a first step in this direction.  
Anticipating certain forthcoming amendm ents, the SJC adopted a number of 
structural measures to be implemented by the administrative heads with a view to 
improving the celerity of judicial proceedings. Recommendations included 
scheduling court hearings at shorter intervals and shorteni ng the time for each court 
sitting. The SJC reported positive impact of these measures. 
Bulgaria continued monitoring a number of high public interest cases, some of which 
are also monitored by the European Commi ssion. Out of 50 cases monitored by the 
SJC, 54% were reportedly completed with a sentence. Furthermore, the SJC monitors 
13 opened cases on offences committed by organized crime groups. The SJC reports 
a disciplining effect on the cases monitored. 
EN 9   EN Public accountability remains an important challenge of the judiciary. Since July 
2009, Bulgaria has been able to develop a first track record in following up to 
complaints and alleged violations of th e judiciary's ethical code. The Ethics 
Commission of the SJC initiated - on its ow n initiative - cases of alleged ethical 
violations or corruption repor ted in the media and examined altogether 80 complaints 
and signals alleging violations of ethical rules by magistrates. Following the adoption 
of the unified C ode of Ethics  in May 2009, ethics commissi ons at the district and 
appellate levels as well as  within the supreme instan ce were set up. An impact 
analysis of the Code of Et hics is scheduled for 2011, onc e the training process is 
completed. 
Since July 2009, a number of important cases of trade in  influence affected the 
reputation of the Bulgarian judiciary. The response of the disciplinary and judicial 
authorities to these cases ha s been mixed. In response to  the case concerning alleged 
trade in influence in high-level judicial appointments, the SJC imposed disciplinary sanctions against 18 magistrates for illegitim ate contacts: 11 of them were demoted, 
a 20% salary cut for two years was app lied in the case of one magistrate, 3 
magistrates were dismissed and 3 were re moved from their positions. However, no 
criminal investigations against the involved magistrates were launched. Two elected members of the SJC, who were involved in  the case, submitted their resignations and 
returned to the previously held positions. An amendment to the Judicial System Act 
(JSA) of December 2009 introduced the legal basis for disciplinary responsibility of 
members of the Supreme Judicial Council in the same way than for ordinary magistrates. The SJC initiated disciplina ry proceedings against the two of its 
members. One of them was dismissed while the proceedings against the second one are still ongoing. 
In another case regarding allegations of trade in influence and mismanagement at the 
Blagoevgrad District Court, no disciplinary proceedings by the SJC nor criminal 
investigations were launched despite a critical inspection report. The incumbent 
administrative head of the court in question was not re-appointed. 
In a third large scale case regarding allegations of trade in influence in relation to 
securing valuable real-estat e property by magistrates' relatives, a more proactive 
reaction by disciplinary and judicial authorities could be noted. The Ethics 
Commission of the SJC initiated disciplina ry proceedings against all magistrates 
concerned. Criminal investigatio ns were launched in parallel. 
A bilateral assistance proj ect developed recommendations for a system to collect 
complaints concerning magistrates. The recommendations included an information 
campaign on types of complaints, procedures for submitting them, creating a mechanism for their monitoring and follow-up on a local level as well as setting-up of a centralised electronic registry of  received corruption signals regarding the 
judiciary. 
The Supreme Judicial Council approved a model for courts’ websites and introduced 
a central web-based interface for the publi cation of judgments. As of July 2009, all 
courts were required to publish all judgments;  however, random checks revealed that 
courts do not systematically comply with this requirement. The SJC does not have 
yet an effective system to control the resp ect of the requirement to timely publish all 
the sentences. Further steps to fully address the Commissi on's recommendation of 
July 2009 still need to be taken.  
EN 10   EN 4. B ENCHMARK 4: CONDUCT AND REPORT ON PROFESSIONAL , NON -PARTISAN 
INVESTIGATIONS INTO ALLEGATIONS OF HIGH -LEVEL CORRUPTION . 
REPORT ON INTERNAL INSPECTIONS OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AND ON THE 
PUBLICATION OF ASSETS OF HIGH -LEVEL OFFICIALS  
Bulgaria has stepped up its efforts to fight high-level corruption . Cases against 
former Ministers, former Members of Par liament and other high- level officials were 
initiated and some of these cases have reached court.  
At the central level, an inter-ministerial Commission for the Prevention and 
Counteraction of Corruption11 within the Council of Mini sters develops national anti-
corruption policy. In September 2009, the role of the Commission was extended 
through a new mandate. The organisation of the Commission's work and the 
administrative and technical services are carried out by the Directorate “Chief 
Inspectorate", which is directly subordinate to the Prime Minister. Further work is required to monitor the progr ess in the fight against co rruption at the central and 
local level, as recommende d in the July 2009 report. 
The lack of effective control at the admini strative level to prevent and detect fraud 
continued to pose problems. The Commi ssion's recommendation to promote pro-
active ex-officio investigations of corrupti on by administrative authorities has not yet 
been addressed. Administrative controls ar e not performed systematically and the 
quality of signals from public admini stration is reportedly low. Certain 
improvements were reported with respect to the quality of signals from the 
institutions managing EU funds.  
Bulgaria reports that the law on the preventi on and detection of c onflicts of interest 
in force since January 2009 lead to a numb er of signals, inspections, disciplinary 
proceedings and sanctions. At the same time, few situations of conf lict of interest are 
being pursued and sanctioned. The control bodies are not effective in detecting 
conflict of interest as they lack the suffi cient capacity and f unctional independence. 
No steps have been taken to develop guidelines for the implementation of the conflict of interest law recomm ended by the Commission. 
The General Inspectorate to the Council of Ministers, tasked with following-up 
signals on conflict of in terest and verifying conflict of  interest declarations, does not 
have sufficient capacity and tools at its disposal to carry out these functions 
effectively. Between August 2009 and Ma y 2010, 10 enquiries on conflicts of 
interest were carried out (for 300 declarations received). In 8 of these cases no irregularities were found. The Parlia mentary Committee on Anti-corruption, 
Conflicts of Interests, and Parliamentar y Ethics (CACCIPE) set up in July 2009 
initiated several ex-officio  inspections, which revealed that five Members of 
Parliament (MPs) did not submit their declarations before the deadline. An 
inspection on the contents of the actual declarations is ongoing. The Committee received nine signals on Ministers and MP s. Six cases were terminated as the 
                                                
 
11 The Deputy Prime Minister and Mi nister of the Interior holds the chairmanship of the CPCC. Deputy 
Chairperson is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minist er of Finance. The memb ers of the Committee are: 
Minister of Justice; Minister of Education, Youth and Science; Minister of Health; Minister of Economy, Energy and Tourism; Minister of Regional Development and Public Works; Chairperson of 
the State Agency of National Security; Secretary of the Security Council with the Prime Minister; 
Secretary of the Council of EU Funds Management with the Prime Minister . 
EN 11   EN Committee did not find a conflict of interest. Final decisions in other three cases have 
not yet been taken.  
The law on the prevention and detection of conflict of interests contains a special 
provision on the protection of whistle-blowers , in order to protect the identity of the 
whistle blower. The staff in charge of ch ecking signals is oblig ed to protect any 
relevant documents from unauthorized acce ss. No further administrative safeguards 
to protect whistle-blowers have been put in place. The Commission's recommendation in this regard remains unaddressed.  
As a follow-up to a recommendation by the Commission, the establishment of a 
special agency in charge of detecting and pr eventing conflicts of interests is foreseen 
for 2011. The different control bodies which ar e currently in char ge of implementing 
the law continued to be passi ve rather than pro-active in  establishing possible fraud 
and corruption cases. To ensure public transpar ency, it is important  that declarations 
on conflicts of interests are published systematically. 
In response to the Commission's reco mmendation, in March 2010, Bulgaria adopted 
amendments to the Administrative Act aiming to strengthen the capacity of 
inspectorates by giving them the right to conduct checks at their own initiative.  
Checks have become reportedly more regular and in some cases led to disciplinary 
sanctions and forwarding cases to the prosecution.
12 The Prime Minister intends to 
create a working group to develop a methodology for the efficiency of the 
administration and a methodology for assessing corruption risks.  
Since their establishment in 2008, there ha ve been no structural changes of the joint 
teams specialised in the EU fraud . In November 2009, the teams were transferred to 
new premises, which facilitates communicati on with the main record-keeping offices 
within the Prosecutor's Office and the Mini stry of Interior. In 2010, the competences 
of the joint team on EU fraud were enlarged  to a wider range of offences in relation 
to fraud and other crimes related to EU  budget. In 2010, the joint teams on EU fraud 
report better results in terms of number of  cases in pre-trial proceedings, indictments 
and court sentences compared to 2009.13 At the same time, investigative practice can 
be improved. Links between related cases and aspects of organised crime should be 
systematically explored. The possible impli cation of senior public officials in fraud 
schemes must be fully clarified. Altogether, it is important that the possibilities of the 
law are used in an effective way to sanc tion fraud with EU f unds. Severe sentences 
in two emblematic cases related to EU f unds were issued in first instance, though no 
detention orders were imposed. An amendm ent to the Penal Code introduced more 
severe punishments in EU fraud cases14, however the general le vel of penalties for 
                                                 
12 The Inspectorate of the Customs Agency carried out 256 inspections upon signals and 15 planned 
inspections. As a result, 31 disciplinary sanctions were  applied and 9 signals on criminal offences were 
forwarded to the prosecution. The National Audit Office  carried out 91 inspections in relation to the law 
on disclosure of financial interests of senior public officials, which led to an audit against one official. 
The NRA audits (108) led to detection of 39 cases of organised fiscal fraud amounting to BGN 190 
million. The inspections performed by the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education led to 7 disciplinary proceedings ag ainst the heads of Regional Inspectorates  (conflict of interest) and 2 penal 
decrees against two public school headmasters. The Ministry of Interior's (MoI) Inspectorate imposed 
107 disciplinary sanctions and 22 sanctions were imposed on the proposal of other MoI bodies. 
13 Between January and May 2010, the prosecution filed 134 indictments compared to 125 in 2009. The 
number of court sentences registered in 2010 (55) is higher compared to 28 reported in 2009. 
14 Articles 202, 212, 248a, 254b PC.  
EN 12   EN EU fraud cases remains low compared to st andards in other EU Member States. In 
addition, it appears that th e most appropriate provision s in the Penal Code, which 
allow for substantial penalties, general fr aud and document fraud are rarely pursued 
in an effective way.  
As reported earlier, legislative ch anges have effectively reduced transparency 
regarding the ownership of company assets  as the Commercial Registry Code no 
longer requires the registrati on of subsequent changes in the acquisition and transfer 
of shares after a first regist ration. This decrease in transp arency has a negative effect 
on financial investigations. Bu lgaria is considering reacti ng to these shortcomings by 
obliging firms to announce every cha nges of ownership within 7 days. 
5. B ENCHMARK 5: TAKE FURTHER MEASURES TO PREVENT AND FIGHT CORRUPTION , 
IN PARTICULAR AT THE BORDERS AND WITHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT  
In line with the Commission's r ecommendation, Bulgaria adopted an Integrated 
Strategy for Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption  and Organised Crime. 
Some steps to ensure implementatio n of the Strategy have been taken .15 The Strategy 
is to be implemented through an action plan adopted on 17 March 2010 and an 
integrated model for prevention and c ountering organised crime and corruption.16 
The modalities of implementation of the action plan were decided by Government on 9 June 2010. It is too early to assess the real  impact of the Strategy at this stage.  
Responding to the Commission's recomm endation, 28 regiona l anti-corruption 
councils formed at a local level are repor tedly being strengthened, by including in 
their composition representatives of local gov ernments, territorial structures of the 
ministries, judiciary, civil associations a nd businesses. Further work is required to 
fulfil the Commission's recommendation on this matter. The Ministry of Interior implemented a number of preventive me asures, including awareness raising 
campaigns and better identification at the border checkpoints. Bulgaria reported 
several initiatives designed to combat local-level corruption such as installing of 
video surveillance systems at the borders or carrying out anti-corruption awareness 
raising campaigns. 
Based on the agreement signed in A ugust 2009, the Customs Agency and the 
National Revenue Agency (NRA) report to ha ve access to their respective registers, 
database and information systems. An up- to-date module is still being implemented. 
Supervisory teams composed of employees  of the Customs Agency and the NRA 
carried out joint inspections of  border check points and aud its of high risk tax payers. 
A number of pre-trial proceedings were in itiated against local government officials 
and charges have been brought against six mayors. 
A system for evaluating corruption risk in the health area and an electronic register 
for corruption signals have been implemented in the public health structures. The Medical Audit Executive Agen cy was established in December 2009 to deal with 
                                                
 
15 See also under Benchmark 6. 
16 The so-called BORKOR project. 
EN 13   EN complaints and corruption signals.17 A partnership with the civil society has been 
forged to improve governance and counter corruption in the fi eld of education. 
In relation to land swaps  prohibited by law of January 2009, civil society requested 
either a referendum on annulling state a nd municipal land swaps by passing a law 
revoking land swaps deals or obliging benefi ciaries of land swaps to pay the real 
market price. On 5 August 2009, the Govern ment issued an order suspending the 
examination of applications for exclusion of forest acquired by private natural or 
legal persons by means of swap from the forestry stock. This moratorium has been confirmed by the Resolution adopted by the National Assembly on 3 September 
2009. Bulgaria reports two pre-trial proceedings and one investigation opened as well as one case pending before court. Criminal proceedings were opened against a former minister of agriculture.  
Several reports on vote-buying have been recorded on the occasion of the European 
and the national elections in  July 2009. The prosecution id entified 87 cases  of trading 
in votes, which led to 11 c onvictions and one acquittal.
18 
The Commission’s analysis of the im plementation and control system for public 
procurement  revealed significant shortcomings.  
Frequent changes in the legal framework a nd in implementing procedures in the last 
year presented considerable challenges to contracting authorities. This legal 
instability affected the capacity of the co ntrol bodies to devel op consistent practice 
and made it difficult for courts’ to elabor ate coherent jurispr udence on appeals in 
public procurement cases.  
The ex-ante and ex-post controls carried ou t respectively by the Public Procurement 
Agency (PPA)19 and the Public Financia l Inspection Agency (PFIA)20 reveal very 
high rates of irregularities, which r each up to 100% of tenders controlled ex-ante  and 
60% of tenders controlled ex-post .  
The main problems in the field of public  procurement are linked to conflict of 
interest, local favouritism and frequent recour se to direct attribu tion of contracts in 
situations where tender procedure shoul d be applied. The law on prevention and 
detection of conflict of interest lacks efficient implementation structure and therefore does not offer adequate protection against conf lict of interest. In the context of the 
implementation of EU funds, services of  the Commission have pointed to those 
weaknesses on several occasions and transm itted a number of concrete suggestions 
for corrective action. 
Fines applied as a result of irregularities de tected in ex-post controls are rather low 
and not sufficiently dissuasive. Disciplinar y sanctions can be suggested by the PFIA 
but their application falls under the discre tion of the public administration concerned. 
Very few signals on corruption in public procurement are detected by administrative 
authorities and forwarded to the prosecuti on and no regular feedback on the judicial 
                                                
 
17 The Medical Agency dealt with 78 complaints (including 9 signals of corruption) and 5 signals were 
found well-founded. The Agency inspected 88 medical institutions (28 acts on administrative violations 
identified) and six regional health insurance funds. 
18 27 investigations are still pending, 15 had been terminated and in 6 cases indictments were filed. 
19 Since January 2009 until June 2010, the Agency carried  out ex-ante controls in 310 tender procedures.  
20 During the reporting period, the PFIA issued 2102 actors for administrative violations.  
EN 14   EN follow-up to these signals is ensured.21 Neither the Public Procurement Agency nor 
the Public Financial Inspection Agency has the explicit power to carry out ex-officio checks and the ex-ante and ex-post contro l systems in practice are entirely signal 
based. The ex-ante and ex-post control syst em lacks a strategic approach based on 
risk analysis and targeted controls. This  constitutes a fundamental weakness of the 
control system as some contracting author ities can avoid controls if no signals on 
them are received. Given the limited resour ces and staff capacit y, the control bodies 
are in a position to control only a small pe rcentage of all the tenders carried out in 
Bulgaria. Establishing a plan of inspecti ons would generate a disciplinary effect, 
while targeting inspections to vulnerable areas  would help to address the most blatant 
irregularities.  
The Public Procurement Agency took measures  to provide the cont racting authorities 
with guidance such as practical manuals and training, however, th e insufficient staff 
capacity prevents it from fulfilling this function to full avail.  
The current system of remedies does not o ffer sufficient guarantees for the appealing 
bidders as it rarely leads to suspension of  tender procedures. Bulgaria took steps to 
address this problem by adopting amendments  to the Public Procurement Act, which 
were adopted by the Parliament and entered into force on 13 July. The new law introduced a standstill period during which the contract cannot be concluded.
22 The 
two-instance review proceedings as well as  the character of appeal authorities are 
maintained. A one-month time limit is provided to each of the authorities to pronounce the ruling. The possibility for in terim measures, including measures to 
suspend the procedure for the award of th e public contract, is preserved. . At the 
same time, the obligation to pay a guarantee of 1% of the amount of the contract is 
withdrawn. The scope of Public Procurement Agency’s ex-ante controls is expanded to cover procedures for the award of serv ices and supplies cont racts financed with 
EU funding whose value is equal to or exceeds BGN 1 000 000.
23 
6. B ENCHMARK 6: IMPLEMENT A STRATEGY TO FIGHT ORGANISED CRIME , FOCUSSING 
ON SERIOUS CRIME , MONEY LAUNDERING AS WELL AS ON THE SYSTEMATIC 
CONFISCATION OF ASSETS OF CRIMINALS . REPORT ON NEW AND ONGOING 
INVESTIGATIONS , INDICTMENTS AND CONVICTIONS IN THESE AREAS  
Bulgaria has stepped up its efforts to fight  organised crime in an effort to restore 
confidence in public institutions. Arrests of well-known criminal fi gures in targeted 
operations were carried out. In some cases, court procedures have been initiated. At 
the same time, collecting qualitative eviden ce during the pre-trial phase remains a 
serious problem, as are lengthy procedures and frequent delays at the trial phase. 
Some well-known organised crime cases did not progress dur ing the reporting 
period.  
                                                 
21 Up to date, the Public Financial Inspection Agency  reports having forwarded 480 corruption signals to 
the prosecution. Since 2006, the Commission for the Protection of Competition reports having forwarded only 12 signals on corruption to the prosecution. 
22 The duration of the standstill period will be 14 da ys (Directive 2007/66/EC requires 10 days) from 
notification of the interested candidates or tenderers on the award decision.  
23 Under the law prior to amendments of 13 July 2010, contracts for supplies of goods and services were 
subject to ex-ante control only if an irregularity was found at the same contracting authority within a 
period of two years. 
EN 15   EN The Ministry of Interior carried out a number of operations targeting organised 
groups specialised in kidnapping, prostitu tion and drug dealing. The criminal and 
investigative police worked on the investiga tion in close cooperation with SANS and 
with the support of administrative bodies, such as the National Revenue Agency 
(NRA), the Customs Agency, and the tax au thorities. SANS reported receiving more 
signals from the financial institutions, wh ich enabled it to pursue several money 
laundering cases. 
Responding to the Commission recommendation to set up sp ecialised structures for 
prosecuting high level corruption and orga nised crime and to make the ad hoc 
structure of joint investigation te ams on organised crime permanent, joint teams 
specialized in organized crime and corruption were established in October 2009. The 
members of the teams are seconded by their re spective agencies (Min istry of Interior, 
the prosecution, State Agency for National Se curity). While the te ams are permanent, 
its members change depending on the inves tigation carried out. There are no clear 
criteria on which cases are assigned to the teams. Bulgaria assesses the work of these teams as effective and reports  the first results in connect ion to indictments against 
persons accused of being member s of organised crime groups.  
Bulgaria reports the creation of specialised units  within five district courts.
24 In 
addition, the idea to set up specialised courts  or specialised panels  to try organised 
crime cases was launched in May 2010. The St rategy for the reform of the judiciary 
proposes a thorough debate with all compet ent actors. The creation of specialised 
structures should respect pr ocedural rights and be cons istent with the Bulgarian 
judicial organisation. In partic ular, issues such as the st atus and functioning of such 
specialised structures within the judi cial system, criteria on which judges and 
prosecutors would be select ed as well as choice of  cases assigned should be 
discussed.  
The structural reforms  of both of the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and 
the Ministry of Interior (MoI) at the e nd of 2009 clarified the respective competences 
of the criminal police in the MoI a nd SANS. The cooperation between the two 
institutions appears improved, notably thr ough an exchange of information and joint 
investigations carried out in the framework of joint teams under the leadership of the 
prosecution.  
A Parliamentary Commission for supervisi ng SANS was put in place and received 
first reports from the head of SANS, mainly on budgetary and staffing matters. 
The structural reform of SANS was combin ed with reorganisation of the Agency's 
priorities, which currently include th e protection of the national security, 
counteraction and neutralization of risks and threats with reference to critical 
infrastructures, the democratic processes and the constitutional order. The main responsibility in combating or ganised crime was transferred back to the Ministry of 
Interior. The reform of the Ministry of Interior led to the establishment of the Chief Directorate Combating Organized Crime
25 as and independent  structure under the 
direct subordination to the Mi nister of Interior. Bulgaria  reports a number of arrests 
of well-known figures in targ eted operations against or ganised crime groups and an 
                                                 
24 Turgovishte, Yambol, Blagoevgrad, Sofia and Pleven. Two judicial panels have also been set up at the 
Military Appellate Court and at all military courts – in the cities of  Plovdiv, Sliven, Pleven, Varna, 
while the Sofia Military Court has four panels. 
25 This department initiated 46 pre-trial procee dings and detected 5 organised crime groups. 
EN 16   EN increase in the number of indictments rega rding organised crime cases. It remains to 
be seen whether the quality of evidence co llected in the course of investigations 
carried out by the police in cooperation wi th the prosecution will be sufficient to 
provide solid basis for provi ng organised crime activities.26  
In response to a recommendation by the Commission, the Government proposed a 
draft Act on the Forf eiture of Illegally Acquired Asset in December 2009. The draft 
suggested introducing a non-convi ction based civil seizure a nd forfeiture of assets 
derived from illegal activities, based on a combined system of criminal and civil law.
27 It also provided for the increase of the competence of the agency in charge of 
carrying out investigations and forfeiture  procedures and extending the target group 
to which the law applies. The draft law has been revised several times and should reach Parliament before the end of the year  following an opinion by the Council of 
Europe's Venice Commission. 
Since July 2009, the Commission for the Establishment of Property Acquired 
through of Criminal Activity (CEPACA) reports further progress. During the 
reporting period, CEPACA initiated 147 pr oceedings. 118 decisions to impose 
freezing of assets were filed in court amounting to BGN 356 800 000. 22 court decisions on first instance and 14 in s econd instance were reported. For the same 
period, only two court deci sions became effective, for a sum of BGN 270 236. 
The effectiveness of CEPACA is weakened by th e fact that it starts  is activities at the 
very late stage. As noted in the previous  report of the Commission, a timely freezing 
of assets in organised crime cases has an important deterrent effect. To achieve this 
effect, the freezing of assets must be carried  out as early as possible. The currently 
applicable legal framework allows the freezing of assets only at the time of indictment. As a result, freezing of assets  often looses its operational effect. The 
planned amendments seem not to address this matter. 
Bulgaria facilitated some investigations into unexplained wealth  by amending the 
Law on Income Tax on Natural Persons. C onsequently, as of 1 January 2010 it is 
mandatory to declare all loans over BGN 10 000. As the deadline for tax declarations 
for 2009 passed only on 30 April 2010, the e ffect of the measure cannot yet be 
assessed.  
Investigations into unexplained wealth over BGN 500 000, carried out by the Money 
Laundering Counteraction Section of the S upreme Cassation Public Prosecutor’s 
Office in close cooperation with  the authorities of the tax administration, are still in 
process. They are initiated mostly on signals , ex-officio investigations continue to be 
carried out on a small scale. SANS and CE PACA jointly developed a Manual on the 
investigation of money launde ring. No developments re garding the prohibition of 
cash payments for real-estate transfers were  reported. A pro-active approach of the 
prosecution on money laundering is part icularly needed. Yet, few ex-officio 
investigations are carried out, as genera lly the prosecution acts only upon specific 
signals from administrative control authorities. 
                                                
 
26 Bulgaria reports a total of 765 pre-trial proceedings in relation to organised crime have been initiated in 
the reporting period, and charges brought against 523 persons involved in criminal activities. In a recent 
organised crime group case, two main defendants we re acquitted in first instance due to lack of 
evidence proving their leadership of an organised crime group. 
27 The use of a non-conviction based ci vil proceedings as a means of rec overing the proceeds of crime can 
be found in common law countries (Australia, Ireland, Italy, United States, UK and South Africa) In 
continental Europe forfeiture or confiscation is  generally part of the criminal procedure. 
EN 17   EN According to available data at the Supr eme Cassation Public Prosecutor’s Office out 
of 21 cases related to money laundering submitted to court during the reporting period, 5 involve also charge s pursuant to Article 321 of  the Penal Code (organized 
criminal group) and another 8 cases invol ve charges for othe r predicate crimes 
(without corruption-related offences). Th e main defendant in a SAPARD money-
laundering case has been sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. 
Since the beginning of the year three public killings took place. The perpetrators in 
these cases have not yet been arrested.  
Some steps were taken towards setting up of the Unified Information System for 
Combating Crime. The system connecting the database s of the Ministry of Interior, 
the prosecution and the courts is expected to be operational in 2013.