In the year 2000, the main activities of the Law
Program were focused on legislative and judicial reform, and
institution building. The main achievements were the successful
development of the Draft Law on Electronic Document and Electronic
Signature and the Draft Law on the Ombudsman.
2000 Highlights
- As Secretariat
to the Judicial Reform Initiative (www. csd.bg/jri/), the Law
Program was instrumental in the further development and public
endorsement of the Program for Judicial Reform in Bulgaria as a
consensus document based on a set of political and legislative
measures, assisting the legal and institutional infrastructure of
the judiciary.
- The Draft Law
on the Ombudsman was elaborated by an expert task force with the
CSD Law Program and was introduced to the National Assembly by a
group of MPs. A book on the main aspects of the institution titled
The Ombudsman Institution - Concept Paper and Draft Law for
Bulgaria; Foreign Legislation was published.
- Under the
auspices of the Law Program, an expert group finalized the Draft
Law on Electronic Document and Electronic Signature. The Draft was
approved by the Council of Ministers and the procedure for its
adoption by the National Assembly was started. A book on the main
aspects of the law titled Electronic Commerce and Electronic
Signature: Legal Aspects was published. "
- Public hearings
on new and amended legislation have already become a more accepted
practice at the National Assembly as a result of the efforts of the
Program within its project Citizen Participation, Public Hearings
and the Development of Improved Public Policy in
Bulgaria.
- The Program
continued its efforts to assist the development of the non-profit
sector by updating the distance-learning course on general and
financial management of NGOs for the purposes of multi-media
education and for introduction of the best European NGOs management
practices.
I. Legislative Reform
1. Shaping the Regulatory Framework of
E-Commerce
Electronic means of communications are a serious
challenge for the security and protection of transactions and
relations conducted electronically. The new technologies require a
relevant legal basis both on national and international levels. The
classical regulations are based on the requirement for a
paper-based document and hand-written signatures and therefore do
not guarantee for an e-com-merce and electronic data
interchange.
In early 2000, the Law Program set up an e-commerce
task force including Dr. Vessela Stancheva, Attorney at Law; Dr.
Maria Yordanova, Head of CSD Law Program; Dr. Angel Kalaidzhiev,
Associate Professor at the Law Faculty of Sofia University, Justice
Borislav Belazelkov, Supreme Court of Cassation; and Mr. Stephan
Kyut-chukov. Partner, Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov.
The group further extended the research on various legal aspects of
electronic commerce and electronic signatures and finalized the
concept paper and the Draft Law on Electronic Document and
Electronic Signature. An Expert Advisory Board was also established
consisting of representatives of the main stakeholders concerned -
business associations, government regulatory bodies and ministries,
legal and IT experts to ensure the quality of the legislative
proposals. Members of the Board held regular meetings with the task
force members discussing the legal regulation of electronic
signatures in the EU and other countries as well as comments and
suggestions made.
On September 28 the Council oj Ministers approved
the Draft Law on Electronic Document and Electronic Signature and
submitted it to the rational Assembly. The Draft reflects the most
important opinions, suggestions and recommendations made by the
experts and institutions concerned. On October 19 the Committee on
Legal Issues and Anticorruption Legislation to the rational
Assembly made a decision to move the Draft for first reading in a
plenary session.
Awareness Raising and Public Discussions on the
Draft Law
Meetings, public discussions and consultations were
held at different stages with Bulgarian and foreign experts. The
most important ones included:
- A discussion at the Bulgarian National Bank
on March 7. The presentation was made by the task force core
drafters to the National Council on Payment Systems members and
representatives from other agencies and institutions, such as the
Central Depository, the Association of the Commercial Banks, the
State Commission on Telecommunications, the Bulgarian National
Securities Commission, the Bulgarian Telecommunication Company,
etc. The participants outlined their views on the improvement of
the legal regulation.
- A Policy Workshop was held at the Center for
the Study of Democracy jointly with No 2 Diplomatic Club (an
initiative of deputy chiefs of diplomatic missions in Sofia) on
March 22, to introduce the Draft Law as well. The major points of
the proposed legislation were emphasized, such as the mechanisms
for generating an electronic signature and the proposed
institutional framework.
- A visit by Bulgarian experts and policy
makers to the United Kingdom on the issues of e-commerce
legislation was organized in March 2000. The UK has one of the most
advanced experiences in this area within the EU member states. The
visit was organized by the Law Program with the British Association
for Central and Eastern Europe (BACEE), in co-operation with the
British Embassy in Bulgaria. The Deputy Governor of the Bulgarian
National Bank Mr. Martin Zaimov and the task force members took
part in the event. Among some of the topics presented were
perspective and vision of e-commerce in UK, issues of
self-regulation; consumer confidence (Trust UK), e-government
strategy, encryption and law enforcement issues. A comparative
legal analysis has been outlined throughout the discussions on
different provisions of the Bulgarian draft law and the UK
Electronic Communication Bill 2000.
- The Draft Law was featured in the discussions
at two major international events in Sofia:
The Southeast Europe E-Commerce Forum held in
Sofia on July 2-3 and organized by the Applied Research and
Communications Fund (ARC Fund). The Forum was attended by IT
experts, civil servants, business and industry representatives from
United States, the European Union member states and
Bulgaria.
A discussion of the final version of the Draft
Law on Electronic Document and Electronic Signature was also part
of the second Southeast European E-Commerce Conference held in
Sofia in October 24 - 26 and organized by the Ministry of
Economy.
- In order to facilitate the subsequent
implementation of the draft law and to promote the knowledge at
institutions concerned the Law Program published a book on the
legal aspects of electronic commerce and electronic signature in
April 2000.
The book, published with the support of the
Bulgarian National Bank, contains foreign and international acts
related to e-commerce, including the legislation of the Czech
Republic, Germany, the UK, the US (state of Utah), Spain and other
countries, international law as well as the Bulgarian draft law. In
the course of 2001, the Law Program will update the book in another
edition including the relevant EU legislation.
Public-private Co-operation in Drafting the
Legislation
The final version of the Draft Law on Electronic
Document and Electronic Signature was elaborated together with
representatives of the Ministry of Economy and with the
participation of experts from the Bulgarian Industrial Association,
the Bulgarian National Bank, and the Council of Ministers''
Directorate on European Integration and Relations with
International Financial Institutions. The process of developing the
draft and its successful introduction to the Parliament has clearly
demonstrated the advantages of the public-private co-operation
approach.
2. Introducing the Ombudsman Institution
The work on introducing the Ombudsman Institution to
Bulgaria started in early 1998 with the analysis of a number of
foreign legislative acts and continued in 1999 with the development
of a Concept Paper and a Draft Law for Bulgaria. In 2000, the
efforts of the CSD Law Program focused on further elaboration of
the developed Draft Law on the Ombudsman as well as on the
popularization of the necessity of establishing such institution in
Bulgaria.
The year started with introducing substantial
changes to the Draft Law. A separate chapter including provisions
about local level Civic Mediators was added as a result of the
successful implementation of Coalition 2000''s initiative for
establishment of local Ombudsman-type institutions. The inclusion
of the new provisions made it necessary other texts of the Draft to
be amended including its title, which was changed to Draft Law on
the People''s Defender and Civic Mediators. In the fall of 2000,
the Draft Law was introduced to the Parliament by a group of MPs
titled Draft Law on the Ombudsman. The opening of the legislative
procedure resulted in further changes to the Draft. The name of the
institution was changed into Ombudsman (Public Mediator) and the
local institutions were renamed from Civic to Local Mediators. The
scope of activities of the Ombudsman was further clarified.
The Draft Law elaboration and the advocacy work of
the Law Program could be summarized in the following milestones in
the course of 2000:
- The partnership between CSD and the
Parliamentary Centre of Canada on the establishment of the
Ombudsman Institution in Bulgaria continued in 2000. In March 2000
Mr. Geoffrey Dubrow, Program Manager of the Parliamentary Centre of
Canada, and Mr. Patrick Robardet, Legal Affairs and Research
Director in the Office of the Public Protector in Quebec, visited
Sofia. They were presented to the changes introduced in the Draft
Law and made comments on them. In June, a delegation of Bulgarian
politicians visited Canada on the invitation of the Parliamentary
Centre of Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency
(CIDA). The visit was aimed to study the Canadian experience in
developing the Ombudsman Institution and other accountability
mechanisms. Members of the delegation were Mr. Ivan Dimov, MP,
Member of the Parliamentary Committee for Budget, Finance and
Financial Control and the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Issues
and Anticorruption Legislation; Mr. Yanaki Stoilov, MP, Deputy
Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Issues and
Anticorruption Legislation; Mr. Kemal Eyup, MP, Member of the
Parliamentary Committee on Foreign and Integration Policy; Mr.
Valentin Georgiev, Secretary General of the National Assembly; and
Mr. Dimitar Markov, Research Fellow at the CSD Law Program. The
delegation had meetings with the Public Protector of Quebec Mr.
Daniel Jacoby and the Ombudsman of Ontario Mr. Clare Lewis and
participated in a Round Table on Federal Ombudsmen and
Commissioners.
- In June 2000, Mr. Claes Ekiundh, Chief
Parliamentary Ombudsman of Sweden, visited Sofia on the invitation
of CSD for a second time. During his stay he had a series of talks
with representatives of the Council of Ministers, the President''s
administration, and the National Assembly on the establishment of
Ombudsman Institution in Bulgaria and participated in a discussion
on the Draft Law.
- The Law Program published a book titled The
Ombudsman Institution - Concept Paper and Draft Law for Bulgaria;
foreign Legislation. The publication is aimed to inform the public
about the nature and the significance of the institution and to
facilitate the legislative procedure. The publication also offers a
short overview of the development of the Ombudsman institution in
various countries together with a comprehensive analysis on the
Bulgarian constitutional and legal environment to be established in
as well. The edition includes foreign Ombudsman Acts, which served
as a basis for drafting the Law for Bulgaria. They are both from
countries with strong traditions in this area (Sweden, Canada and
Spain) and from transition countries, in which the institution has
been recently established (Poland, Hungary, Macedonia and Romania).
Official Ombudsman related documents of the Council of Europe as
well as the complete set of legislative acts on the European
Ombudsman (Ombudsman of the European Union) are also included. The
edition was distributed among legislators, politicians and civic
organizations.
- On November 24, the CSD Law Program jointly
with the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Religions,
Complaints and Petitions of the Citizens, American Bar Association
- Central and East European Law Initiative and Union of Jurists in
Bulgaria organized an International Conference Establishment of the
Ombudsman Institution: Bulgarian Prospective. The Conference was
held at the National Assembly on the occasion of the opening of the
legislative procedure for the adoption of the Draft Law on the
Ombudsman.
The conference was opened by the Chair of the
Parliamentary Group of the Union of Democratic Forces Ms. Ekaterina
Mihailova, and the Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court Mr.
Vladislav Slavov. The Ombudsman of Greece, Prof. Nikiforos
Diamandouros, presented the Greek experience with the functioning
of the Ombudsman Institution, which was established in Greece in
1998. He also made comprehensive comments and recommendations on
the Bulgarian Draft Law on the Ombudsman. Ms. Hanne Juncher, Expert
in the Directorate General of Human Rights to the Council of
Europe, briefed the participants with the Ombudsman related
activities carried out within the Council of Europe. Bulgarian
Draft Law on the Ombudsman was presented by the members of the task
force to the Center for the Study of Democracy Dr. Maria Yordanova,
Head of CSD Law Program, Justice Borislav Belazelkov, Supreme Court
of Cassation and Dr. Silvy Chernev, Deputy Chair of the Court of
Arbitration with the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Ms. Anelia Toshkova, MP and member of the Parliamentary Committee
on Human Rights, Religions, Complaints and Petitions of the
Citizens explained the benefits of the Ombudsman Institution for
the balanced relations between state and society. The Conference
was closed by the Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human
Rights, Religions, Complaints and Petitions of the Citizens Mr.
Ivan Soungarski who appreciated the contribution of
non-governmental organizations to the development of the Draft Law
and expressed his hope for the adoption of an effective and Working
law.
II. Judicial Reform
Mr.
Vladislav Slavov
Chairman of the Union of Jurists
in Bulgaria Chairman of the Supreme Administrative Court
The PJR has been developed by eminent Bulgarian
lawyers and benefits from the combined efforts of government
representatives, representatives of influential NGOs, and
individual experts to ensure further successful development of
judicial reform in Bulgaria. The final version of Program developed
and discussed during 1999 was accomplished in the first half of
2000. A Policy Forum to endorse the PJR was held on May 18. More
than a 100 representatives of public and private institutions,
international organizations, judiciary, academicians
and media attended the Forum. The Program for Judicial Reform was
presented and publicly endorsed at the Forum, which reflected the
consensus reached among the principal institutions and
stakeholders. The PJR was published both in English and Bulgarian
and distributed among all institutions and persons concerned.
The Program is mainly related to the development of
the legislative framework, and efforts will continue in the course
of 2001. In September 2000, a task force with the Ministry of
Justice preparing a draft law amending the Law on the Judiciary
started work. Representatives of the executive, legisltive and the
judiciary, as well as NGOs including the CSD were involved in its
activity. The major part of the priorities of the further judicial
reform, as identified in the PJR, were included in the Ministry of
Justice''s Concept Paper on the amendments needed to the basic for
the Judiciary and for the-continuing judicial reform Law (the Law
on the Judiciary).
Our efforts to draft a new act
focused the directions, proposed by the European Commission to
reform the Judiciary, by the Program for Judicial Reform in
Bulgaria, prepared by the JRI and CSD and the proposals of the
Supreme Judicial Council.
Dimitar Tonchev, Deputy
Minister of Justice, in his opening speech at the public hearing on
the draft law on the Amendments to the Law on the Judiciary
on November 17
Some of the priority areas proposed as
amendments include:
-
A more accurate selection
of the candidates and introducing contests as a major principle
when appointing magistrates (especially on their first
appointment).
-
Improving the efficiency
of the regulatory framework of the one-year internship of the
court candidates.
-
Regulation and
specification of the status of court administration.
-
Setting up with the
Ministry of Justice a specialized unit (Court Police) to provide
security and assistance to the different judicial system
bodies.
-
Specifying obligations for
the various units of the Judiciary to accurately maintain court
statistics and Uniform Information System to combat
criminality.
-
Improving mechanisms and
procedures to ascertain/find out cases where disciplinary
violations have been made and to institute disciplinary liability
of all magistrates.
-
Assessment of the
possibility to establish specialized prisons.
The Draft Law was publicly discussed at a hearing
organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy ABA/CEELI, the
Union of Jurists in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Justice on
November 17, attended by more then a 100 representatives of all
judiciary branches.
III. Contributing to Enhanced NGO Capacity Other
Initiatives
Since 1992, the Center for the Study of Democracy
has been working for the promotion of a better legal environment
for Bulgarian civic organizations. The Not-for-Profit Organizations
Draft Law and a package of proposals to amend the tax legislation
regarding not-for-profit organisations were elaborated during this
period. In 2000, the Law Program continued to be active in the
public campaign for the adoption of a modern NGO legislation. Three
draft laws on the status of not-for-profit organizations were
officially moved to the National Assembly in 2000. One of them was
based on the draft elaborated by a task force with the Center for
the Study of Democracy. In October, the Parliament adopted the
Not-for-profit Legal Entities Law replacing the respective part of
the old Persons and Family Law (enacted in 1949). The main
achievement in the new law is the division of NGOs in two
categories: public-benefit and mutual-benefit organizations
(PBO and MBO). This division is a basis for future introduction
of tax benefits for PBOs by amendments to the tax legislation. CSD
experts participated in the task force (with the Resource Center
for the Not-for-profit Organizations) for changing the tax regime
of the not-for-profit entities. The package prepared
by CSD contributed to the work of this task force.
The elaborated proposals were aimed at encouraging the development
of the social economy sector and to structure the basis of its
sustainable development.
In 2000, the Law Program continued its work on
providing practically oriented programs for the NGOs community. As
a result of the project "General and Financial Management of
Not-for-profit Organizations", carried out in cooperation with the
Hellenic Management Association
(Athens), the Sofia University
Regional Distance Education Study Centre, and the Skopje University
Law Faculty, a distance learning course on NGOs management is now
part of the curriculum of the Faculty of Business Administration at
Sofia University. The work for furthering the achievements of this
project continued with exploring the possibilities for adjustment
of the study materials for multi-media education.
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