Information conference on the
Revised European Social Charter took place in Sofia on 22-23
November, 2001 in the Center for the Study of Democracy, the
hosting organization of the Council of
Europe Information and Documentation Center in Sofia. The
conference was organized by the Council of Europe and it brought together
members of the Bulgarian Ratification Committee with international
experts - Mr. Stefano Piedimonte, Representative from the
Secretariat of the European Social Charter, Mrs Marie-Paule Urbain,
Vice-President of the Governmental Committee of the European Social
Charter, and Mr Jean-Francois Akandji-Kombe, professor in law and
Director of the DESS of Fundamental rights, University of
Caen.
The first Bulgarian report under the Revised Charter
is due by 31 March, 2002 and it will deal with "non hard-core"
provisions. The purpose of the seminar was to ensure that the
report contains all the relevant information in order to allow the
most accurate assessment of the conformity of the Bulgarian
situation with the revised Charter by the European Committee of
Social Rights. After an initial overview of the supervisory
mechanism by the CoE experts, the Bulgarian Committee on the
European Social Charter gave a presentation of the work already
performed in the drafting of the report and of the inherent
difficulties. |