 On May 31, 2002 the
British Embassy to
Bulgaria and the Center for the Study of Democracy jointly
organized a public discussion hosted by the British Ambassador to
Bulgaria H.E. Ian Soutar. The discussion was attended by MPs,
representatives of the Executive and the Judiciary, diplomats,
representatives of nongovernmental organizations and
journalists.
 Baroness Scotland
delivered a lecture on "Building Justice and Human Rights in a
Civil Society". Baroness Scotland outlined the importance of human
rights for the development of civil society and the rule of law not
only in the individual states but in the world as a whole,
mentioning the most significant international instruments adopted
by the United Nations and the Council of Europe.
 She made a
brief analysis of the connection between human rights and economy
and pointed out the fundamental role promotion of human rights
plays for economic development. Baroness Scotland also paid special
attention to the issue of corruption underlining that the spread of
corruption is a serious threat to good governance and the rule of
law.
  During the
discussion that followed the participants shared their views on a
variety of issues: the possible consequences for human rights in
the context of introducing measures against terrorism, the
mechanisms for combating corruption as a key prerequisite for
effective human rights promotion and protection, and the role of
the international community regarding the countries and regimes
which do not respect human rights.
Baroness Scotland
Baroness Scotland was invited to
become a Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's
Department by the Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Mr Tony Blair MP, on
11 June 2001. Baroness Scotland was previously a Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
having being appointed to that post in 1999. After graduating with
LLB Hons (London), Patricia Scotland was called to the Bar, Middle
Temple, in 1977, received silk in 1991 and became a bencher in
1999. She is member of the Bar of Antigua and the Commonwealth of
Dominica; was appointed a Recorder in 2000 and is approved to sit
as a Deputy High Court Judge of the Family Division; she is a
former member of the Commission for Racial Equality and served as a
member of the Millennium Commission from 1994-99. Baroness Scotland
was created a peer as Baroness Scotland of Asthal, of Asthal in the
County of Oxfordshire, in 1997 and was raised to the Privy Council
in July 2001.
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