![CSD Policy Briefs](/api/image/getjournalcoverimage?id=csd-policy-briefs-90.jpg)
Keywords: corruption;
In September 2003, the Corruption Monitoring System (CMS) of Coalition 2000 came into the media spotlight, exemplifying its impact on the policy debate about corruption. The presentation of the quarterly indexes of CMS on September 10 sparked a strong reaction by both critics of corruption in the universities and academic faculty and management. The specific reason was that compared to the previous quarterly data, the CMS registered a substantial increase in the bribery demands on citizens by university professors (21.5% in July 2003, up from 11.8% in May 2003). Overall, the level of corruption pressure for this group has been fairly high (10-14%); what focused the public attention this time was that they topped the rankings of corrupt officials. // Coalition 2000’s media monitoring1 shows that university corruption has not received adequate press coverage. This has picked up in 2003, although the topic is treated generally (20% of the coverage deals with specific allegations). A notable development has been the increasing use of the internet for transparency pressure, including Coalition 2000’s own website where a number of whistleblowers have sent information about corruption in their universities.
More...Keywords: Corruption;
In the first week of October 2003, the Center for the Study of Democracy published the Judicial Anti-Corruption Program (JACP), a policy paper developed with the support of the United Nations Development Programme. The JACP is the first document of its kind detailing a comprehensive agenda for reducing corruption within the judiciary and enhancing its efficiency in penalizing administrative and political corruption. The Program deals with the most significant constitutional, legislative and institutional aspects of anti-corruption measures in the judiciary and combines gap analysis with extensive policy recommendations. // The development of the JACP involved more than 30 eminent Bulgarian legal professionals, including magistrates, and resulted from the combined efforts of influential non-governmental organizations, representatives of state institutions, and experts. This approach reflects CSD’s long standing capacity to bring together various reform constituencies and allows the Program to draw on most of the suggestions provided by government agencies, NGOs, professional associations and media. The analysis and the proposals made are supported by the survey Corruption and Anti-Corruption: the Magistrates' Viewpoint carried out by Coalition 2000 and Vitosha Research. The survey, carried out among 454 magistrates from the whole country in the period April-May, 2003, using the methodology of the Coalition 2000 Corruption Monitoring System, was the first ever survey on corruption issues conducted among magistrates.
More...Keywords: Ombudsman;
Bulgaria continues to be among the few European countries without a national ombudsman institution, although the legislative framework is already in place. The election of the first Bulgarian parliamentary ombudsman, which took place at the National Assembly on May 14, 2004, failed as none of the nominated candidates succeeded in obtaining the required majority of more than half of the votes of the MPs participating in the voting. The main reason for the failure was the inability of political parties represented in Parliament to reach a consensus in the process of nominating candidates, which led to only partisan nominations being put forward.
More...A well controlled and transparent political parties system is crucial for the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law in any country. For Bulgaria, in particular, this is a field that has often been subject to reforms, which, however, have been inconsistent and far from effective. The present legal framework of political parties (the Law on Political Parties of 2001) reveals a number of gaps. At present, there is a new Draft Law on Political Parties, recently submitted to the Parliament for second reading, which offers solutions to the above as well as other shortcomings. However, the support of the civil society and the international community is needed to speed up the passing of the law and to streamline the reforms prior to the upcoming 2005 parliamentary elections.
More...The present brief is aimed to examine the recent developments in establishing national and local ombudsmen in Bulgaria and is a follow up of Policy Brief No. 3 of May this year. The introduction of the ombudsman institution in Bulgaria on national and local level has progressed at different pace. On the one hand, the establishment of local public mediators (municipal ombudsmen) continued to gain speed and since May three more mediators have been elected. Thus, as of October 2004, public mediators are operating in seven municipalities, while in several others the election procedures are under way. Coalition 2000 through its Civil Society against Corruption Program continued to actively support and encourage the process. On the other hand, the establishment of the national parliamentary ombudsman is still pending at the National Assembly, which once again failed to elect an ombudsman. The second attempt did not succeed despite civil society pressure and its calls for a timely election of the national ombudsman through an open, transparent and nonpartisan procedure.
More...Although with a considerable delay, the election of the first Bulgarian ombudsman in April 2005 completed an important part of the process of introducing the ombudsman institution in the country. A civil society driven effort from the very beginning, the establishment of the ombudsman is a result of the effective public-private partnership between governmental institutions and non-governmental organizations. The continuation of this partnership is now among the key preconditions for the successful development and operation of the newly established institution.
More...Keywords: corruption;
On January 12, 2006, the Council of Ministers adopted a National Strategy for Good Governance, Prevention and Counteraction of Corruption 2006-2008. The document was part of the commitments made by Bulgaria in the field of anti-corruption in the context of its EU accession. The strategy was expected to be adopted and presented to the European Commission by the end of 2005. In the beginning of 2006 an inter-ministerial task force submitted a draft version of the strategy to the government but it revealed so many flaws that the government postponed its adoption. As a result, the task force invited the Center for the Study of Democracy to redraft the strategy.
More...Keywords: Corruption;
On the eve of Bulgaria’s EU accession significant results in prosecution and punishment of high level political corruption are still outstanding. In this context, the idea for creating an independent specialized anti-corruption service again became a topic in the anti-corruption agenda.
More...Keywords: CSD; CSD Policy Briefs; Center for the Study of Democracy; corruption;
In its March 2006 annual corruption assessment report On the Eve of EU Accession: Anti-Corruption Reforms in Bulgaria the Center for the Study of Democracy emphasized that “corruption, particularly in the high echelons of power, is one of the most critical problems faced by Bulgaria on the eve of its accession” as the Bulgarian “public tolerates less corruption and is increasingly concerned by it.” Bulgaria needs to present clear evidence of results in its fight against corruption, in particular on high political level.
More...Keywords: corruption;
Reducing corruption has been among the priorities of most international institutions over a number of years now. In particular, corruption was a major preoccupation during the 2004 and 2007 enlargements of the European Union and continues to dominate the agenda of the initial period of Bulgaria and Romania’s membership. Not being in the core of EU’s acquis, anti-corruption was a relatively new matter to tackle and, in contrast to other areas of EU competence, it had little specific guidelines to offer applicant countries. Still, the significance of transparent and accountable government for the functioning of the EU internal market and the delivery of its core policies required that anticorruption be made one of the key requirements for membership. // In this process, the European Commission advanced its capacity to evaluate anti-corruption progress. Following an initial focus on adherence to international standards and acceding to major conventions, attention later shifted to meeting specific good governance targets. Member states have also contributed to understanding corruption and recommending action through the mechanism of peer reviews.
More...With the partnership of CSD this year Bulgaria was included for the second time in the world’s oldest and most comprehensive annual report on competitiveness, the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2007 – published without interruption since 1989 by IMD (International Institute for Management Development). Bulgaria’s competitiveness was covered and ranked together with 54 other leading world economies. The annual rankings are a respected source of information for large international investors, but they also provide highlights to the public and policy-makers on the strengths and the weaknesses of the Bulgarian economy by focusing on four main factors: economic performance; government efficiency; business efficiency; and infrastructure—in science and technology, human capital, health, and education.
More...For the current volume Private Security in Practice: Case studies from Southeast Europe the authors present eight case studies that explore the impact that private security has on security, human rights and the democratic order in four Southeast European countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia. Since regulation should not only limit the negative impact but also foster the positive contribution that private security can make, the authors specifically looked at how challenges posed by PSCs could be avoided and how opportunities can be seized. Broadly, the case studies cover four governance challenges: the development of the private security market, particularly in relation to the state’s retreat from its monopoly on security provision (Part 1); the role of private security in the protection of critical infrastructure (Part 2); the state as a client of private security companies and the impact of public procurement processes on the private security market (Part 3); and the success and failure of different policies aimed at improving the professionalism of private security personnel (Part 4). Previous research by the authors demonstrated that these policy issues are important for each of the four target countries. However, it is worth noting that other pressing policy questions regarding private security exist in these countries, and the authors’ choice does not indicate that the topics discussed are necessarily more pertinent or urgent than others.
More...Keywords: CSD Policy Briefs; Center for the Study of Democracy; Hidden Economy; Southeast Europe
According to the authors of the policy brief, not declaring in full or partially economic activities in SEE remains widespread in virtually all areas of government – permissions and licenses, labour contracts, social security, taxes and custom duties. It signals a persistent gap between formal and informal institutions and lack of coherent enforcement of rules. Corruption pressure is higher towards those engaged in the hidden economy. At the same time their susceptibility to corruption is also higher, confirming the institutional incongruence. The immense diversity of the scale (from 19 % in Croatia to 81 % in Kosovo), prevailing patterns (no written contracts in Turkey, non-payment of health care contributions in Kosovo, envelope wages in FYR of Macedonia and Bulgaria, non-formalised business in Albania), formal vs informal wage average (higher formal wages in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Turkey and lower in Kosovo and Bulgaria) requires country specific tailor-made policies and sequencing of reforms.
More...The present report provides an overview of the international and EU regulatory context of countering the deliberate misuse of CBRN materials and knowledge. The report argues that upholding the international norms against WMD non-proliferation enshrined in the existing international and EU regulations and arrangements in the area of WMD arms control and disarmament, relevant export and import control, and counter-terrorism is an essential requirement for preventing the hostile misuse of CBRN materials and knowledge.
More...In light of the ambitious targets for long term decarbonisation set by the European Green Deal, a critical question for decision-makers is how to sustain a coal phase-out that is as swift as possible while also ensuring security of supply, affordable electricity, and a just transition in regions dependent on coal. The aim of this report is to support decision makers in Bulgaria, Greece and Romania to implement a timely phase-out of coal by analysing the impact on electricity systems as well as the local economy, and highlighting policy recommendations to deal with potential issues related to compensation, system security and local economic impacts.
More...The present report emphasises the essential need for upholding the established principles and standards of criminal justice in the context of counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation. In particular, the report argues that observing criminal justice requirements in radicalisation- and terror-rated cases is a key prerequisite for developing effective and sustainable counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation trust-based strategies and approaches that enhance civil and national security. Part 2 of the report provides a thematic overview of the applicable international and EU, in order to examine how the concepts of terrorism and radicalisation are treated as legal subjects. Part 3 looks into the existing international, EU, and national legal instruments for protecting the criminal procedural rights of suspects and accused. Part 4 reviews ongoing international and national efforts that aim to safeguard criminal procedural rights in the context of counter-terrorism with a particular emphasis on the securitisation debate and its implications for the EU domestic and foreign policy.
More...A significant percentage of all victims of crime are women. Violence against women is a widespread problem throughout the European Union and there is a need to do more in order to protect women, including better access to the criminal justice system. In practice there are still many challenges that women victims face when claiming compensation, such as: lack of comprehensive information on financial compensation, difficulties in receiving compensation from the offender, costly procedures, restrictive time limits, insufficient access to legal assistance. This publication addresses judges and prosecutors involved in criminal cases, where financial compensation should be awarded to women victims of crime. It is also targeting lawyers that provide legal assistance to such victims. The publication addresses topics such as European and national legal framework concerning financial compensation, relevant indicators and evidence to assess pecuniary and nonpecuniary damages suffered by women victims of crime. The publication was elaborated as part of the initiative JUSTICE FOR WOMEN – Towards a more effective rights protection and access to judicial procedures for victims of crimes.
More...