Presentation of analysis of the legal framework of local public mediators and recommendations for its improvement
Following up on its long-lasting efforts to establish and strengthen the ombudsman institution on national and local level in Bulgaria, the CSD Law Program prepared a study on the legal framework governing the activities of the local public mediators and recommendations for its improvement. The report was presented by the Law Program Assistant Ms. Galina Sapundjieva on 20 February 2009 at a workshop attended by the national ombudsman and local public mediators from throughout the country.
The report offers an overview of the historical development of the local public mediator institution in Bulgaria and a comprehensive analysis of the laws and regulations governing its operation. The main conclusion of the authors is that too many provisions on the local mediators are now part of the institutions’ rules of organization and procedure, which are adopted by the respective municipal councils. The majority of these provisions, according to the report, should be part of a law. On the one hand, laws are more stable and less vulnerable to frequent changes, which is vital for the sustainability of the institution. On the other hand, a law would be the most effective means to introduce at least some uniform standards concerning the establishment and operation of such institutions and thus overcome the significant differences that now could be observed between the different municipalities.
