Access to Counsel in the Criminal Justice Practice of Bulgaria [part2]

2.7 Quality of free legal representation

Since no official statistics are available, nor any evaluation within the judiciary or Bar Association conducted regarding the quality of legal protection provided, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee made an attempt on the occasion of its studies to develop a set of procedures for this purpose. Taking into account the margin of error in each, a combination all envisaged possibilities was relied upon in view of obtaining a relatively accurate reflection of the quality of legal representation in the country, as provided in public prosecution criminal cases.

It is hard to adopt a uniform measure for the quality of lawyer’s defense, since it is influenced by a wide variety of factors, some of which do not lend themselves to exact measurement. In the two studies three different evaluation approaches of lawyers performance were used, where available: the scope of activities undertaken by lawyers and their effect; peer review; and evaluation by service-consumers. None of the three approaches is an objective or indisputable measure. Still, an illustration of the results of the study is necessary.

А) Scope of activities undertaken by lawyers and their effect

It is very hard, bearing in mind the limitations of a study of the criminal justice system, to conduct an evaluation of all possible implications of counsel involvement in a particular case. Factors such as comparative frequency of acquittals or detentions and length of imposed imprisonment can certainly not serve as the sole basis for such evaluation. However, there are some factors, which can be used as indicators in this respect. The level of appeals before higher instances may be used as an element for evaluation because the appeals usually (although not always) reduce the punishment set by the initial verdict. For that reason, participation of counsel at the pre-trial stage would considerably increase the chances that the case be brought before a second and even a third instance of judicial review. According to results from the study of criminal cases, where counsel did not take part at pre-trial, 13.1 % of the cases were addressed before the appellate and only 3.4 % before the cassation courts. When counsel did take part, the corresponding shares were much higher – 21.4% and 12.4 %, respectively.

Counsel participation at pre-trial increases the probability that the prosecutor will re-submit the case for further investigation. This occurred in 32 % of the cases where there was counsel and in only 18 % where there was none. The presence of a counsel at pre-trial also increases the probability that the reporting judge will re-submit the case for further investigation. This occurred in 6.1 % of the cases where there was counsel and only in 1.9 % where there was none.

In practice, however, even though there is either an ex officio or a contracted lawyer, in certain cases the latter may not have attended certain investigative proceedings of considerable relevance to the outcome of pre-trial proceedings. This is illustrated in the following chart summarizing the findings from the survey of public prosecution criminal cases.

PROJECT ON PROMOTING ACCESS TO JUSTICE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE 1

The absence of attorneys during these important investigative activities comes as a possible result of the fact that they had not been summoned to appear. Still, the study of criminal cases shows that a small number of attorneys (only in 55 of the cases) have filed a petition to participate in all investigative activities. On the other hand, it becomes obvious that in cases where they had addressed the court with such petitions, usually (in 81.6 % of the cases) they were granted the opportunity to participate

B) Peer reviewPeer review is a proper, although not absolute, method for evaluation of performance. Nonetheless, this approach has been used in our study of criminal cases. Some of the results are listed below:

In 7.2 % of the cases where an attorney had taken part at pre-trial, comments and objections raised by him during presentation of the investigation were deemed to be inappropriate, according to peer review observations. When it comes to counsel performance at first instance proceedings, evaluation by fellow attorneys has sometimes been even more rigorous:- In 15.5 % of the cases where an attorney had participated before the first instance, researchers were convinced there had been clear and convincing evidence to plead for acquittal. Such pleas had not been addressed in 14.3 % of those cases;- In 28.6 % of the cases there had been sufficient grounds to plead for a more favorable qualification of the incriminated act that would be to the advantage of defendants. Such pleas had not been addressed in 17.8 % of those cases;- In 24.8 % of the cases there had been sufficient grounds to plead for a lighter alternative punishment. Such pleas had not been addressed in 19 % of those cases;- In 47.6 % of the cases there had been sufficient grounds to plead for the enforcement of Article 55 of the Penal Code (to reach under the limits of the envisaged punishment). Such pleas had not been addressed in 27.1 % of those cases;- In 28.2 % of the juvenile cases there had been sufficient grounds to plead for the imposition of administrative measures instead of criminal sanctions. Such pleas had not been addressed in 51.5 % of those cases.

C) Client evaluationEvaluation by clients was limited to the accused and the defendants who had been sentenced to imprisonment. This fact alone has limits the validity of the evaluation process, as the subjects were influenced by their present condition, their education, social status and a number of other factors.

In response to our request for evaluation of attorney performance at pre-trial, 38.8 % of the accused and defendants who had had an attorney at this stage of proceedings assigned the


lowest possible mark, Poor 2 (according to the Bulgarian system), to his/her work. Only 11.9 % conceded their attorney had been Excellent (marking him/her with 6 - the highest). The average mark was 3.41. In response to the request for indication of the main weaknesses of attorneys, the accused and defendants most often mentioned the lack of sufficient interest (22.2 %), inadequate activity (20.1 %), insufficient contact with the accused/defendant (16.1 %), and collaboration with the investigative bodies (11.7 %.

First instance proceeding attorneys got better marks. The average was Good 3.69. 29.8 % gave poor marks to their counsels, and 15 % gave excellent marks. Again, responses to our request for indication of the main weaknesses of attorneys the respondents mentioned inadequate activity (20.9 %), lack of sufficient interest (18.4 %), and insufficient contact.

In view of ensuring access to justice of the accused and the defendants, a comparison has been conducted, based on several indicators, between ex officio and contracted legal representation.

А) Comparison of the outcome of proceedings

Data were sorted to verify at which judicial instance cases have ended, depending on availability and type of counsel at pre-trial on the one hand, and before the first instance on the other. According to the criminal cases survey, the number of cases that have ended at the first instance involving both types of counsel is higher. Nonetheless, this has been accounted for by the larger number of cases, which have ended with sentences other than the deprivation of liberty, where contracted counsel had taken part in proceedings.

Below are results of the study among prisoners and detainees for whom the outcome of criminal proceedings has the largest potential to infringe upon basic rights of the person.

With regard to the outcome of proceedings there is data from the criminal cases survey. Results obtained were divided into two main categories – sentences imposing deprivation of liberty, and other outcome of proceedings.


In 77.9 % of the cases where the outcome of criminal proceedings was something other than deprivation of liberty defendants had been using the services of contracted attorneys at pre-trial, as defendants had in 82.0 % of the proceedings before the first instance. This indicates that contracted attorneys often achieve a more advantageous outcome for their clients.

The increase in both the percentage and the number of contracted attorneys before the first instance courts is definitely impressive. This is because at the moment the indictment bill is lodged with the court, even without means to pay, defendants can mobilize all their resources and engage an attorney to represent them before the court.

In relation to the outcome of proceedings, the study conducted among people deprived of their liberty has generated data on the term of imprisonment imposed.

In the presence of almost equal conditions, i.e. gravity of the criminal act to trigger the term of sentence imposed, data from the chart above do not illustrate a drastic discrepancy in the sentences between cases of representation by contracted and ex officio counsel at the first instance. However, the share of proceedings that ended in a manner other than deprivation of liberty is higher in the case of contracted attorneys. Besides, in the case of ex officio attorneys there are well-outlined accumulations of sentences up to 2 years, up to 5 years and more, whereas accumulations in the case of contracted attorneys are comparatively smooth, being more pronounced in the 10 and 20-year sentence range. These data indicate two phenomena: first, they prove that in most serious cases there is, in practice, a contracted attorney; and second, that in equally serious cases (in view of the prerequisites for appointment of ex


officio representation) there are ostensible accumulations in graver sentences resulting in deprivation of liberty.

B) Comparison of participation by counsel in investigative procedural activities at various stages of criminal proceedings

The public prosecution criminal cases study provided data regarding the participation of counsel in presentation of the investigative file.

It is clear that even though the share of ex officio lawyers who took part in this key investigative activity was higher, it was only in 9.6 % of the cases (in contrast to 26.7 % with contracted attorneys) that they made any requests, comments, or objections related to the case being presented. This is most likely the reason that the final decree of the investigator was, in 5.1 % of the cases involving a contracted attorney, to terminate proceedings (compared to only 2 % of the cases involving ex officio attorneys). There might be a similar explanation for the fact that in 34.1 % of the cases involving a contracted attorney the prosecutor re-submitted the case for further investigation, whereas this occurred in 24 % of cases involving ex officio counsel.

Data about several indicators have been collected from interviews with prisoners and detainees, meetings with counsel, participation in procedural investigative activities in which the accused/defendant had also been involved, assessment of counsel activities. Data below are divided according to pre-trial and court proceedings at first instance.

The following are answers to the question whether the accused, at pre-trial, had met his/her counsel during detention.


Obviously, contracted attorneys met their clients more often.The following results were obtained regarding how often the accused had the opportunity to use the services of his/her attorneys.

Contracted attorneys have obviously been more active. The same question was asked with regard to first-instance trial. The responses confirmed the above trend.

C) Comparisonof client’s subjective assessment of weaknesses

In light of the fact that only 20 % of the people who have used ex officio legal services believed they had enough time to prepare for court hearings on the occasion of meetings with their counsel, the results below come as no surprise.Marks given to counsel ranged from 2 (poor) to 6 (excellent). These “marks” are shown for both the pre-trial and the trial stages.


Quite obviously there are many poor marks for the ex officio counsels at pre-trial – 56.2 % of those who had an ex officio counsel. The percentage went down somewhat at first instance, however it remained relatively high – 39.7 %. In both cases, however, the percentage of ex officio counsel with poor marks is higher than that of contracted attorneys.


Below are the reasons given by detainees and convicts for the weaknesses of their counsel.

Obviously problems with ex officio counsels are at least twice as frequent. The following areas were identified as the most problematic, both at pre-trial and at the first instance: lack of interest, insufficient activity, and insufficient contact.

A separate area of interest is collaboration of ex officio counsels with the investigative body at pre-trial, which is a consequence of the current defective system for appointment of ex officio counsels at pre-trial. The value of the same variable (collaboration of ex officio counsels with the investigative body) in first instance trial proceedings is again high, however problems in this respect are less obvious at this stage of proceedings. This is evidenced by the increase in the number of “no weaknesses” responses regarding to ex officio counsel during first-instance proceedings. The decrease of values with regard to lack of interest and insufficient contact indicates that ex officio counsels themselves take their tasks at the trial stage more seriously. There is also a pronounced decrease in the number of responses relating to collaboration with the prosecution and decision-making authorities.

Several conclusions can be drawn from this comparative analysis. Activities of contracted attorneys are more favorable to their clients, which is obvious from the outcome of the proceedings. This is the first and main indicator of weakness in the present system of legal aid. Secondly, activity of ex officio counsels during phases of proceedings is sub-standard. Finally, client assessment with regard to ex officio defense is clear, i.e. it does not meet their needs.

Mechanisms for ensuring the quality of legal aid are among the powers of the Bar Association in this area. These will be covered in Section 5.2 below, regarding the role of the Bar Association in providing legal aid.

Where a criminal defendant remains dissatisfied with the quality of legal aid provided by an ex officio counsel, he may approach the local Bar Association. The Association will discipline him if it is found that the ex officio counsel failed to perform his duties under the Bar Association Act.

3. Civil law: effective access to the judicial system for the indigent in civil cases


3.1 Normative basis of the right to access to courts in civil cases

The principle of social justice is central to the administration of justice in civil cases. It requires that protection afforded during civil proceedings be accessible, i.e. that an opportunity for exercising procedural rights and, in particular, the right of those in need of an affordable and efficient judicial process is guaranteed. A number of provisions have been included in civil legislation to promote the principle of social justice. The main normative acts in the area are the Civil Procedure Code (Граждански процесуален кодекс) (CPC), the Labor Code (LC) and the State Taxes Act (Закон за държавните такси) (STA).

3.2 Civil cases for which legal representation is mandatory

In order to offer parties in civil cases the opportunity to administer their own affairs without resorting to lawyers and having to pay for their services, the civil process does not require mandatory representation by counsel. For instance, there is no requirement for mandatory participation of a lawyer in proceedings before the appellate or cassation instance of review.

The court, moreover, is in charge to ex officio monitor the progress of proceedings, and parties are not obligated to file motions for each and every specific act during examination. However, reforms in 1997 enhanced dispositive and adversarial features of proceedings, eliminating the duty of the court to instruct parties and collect evidence of its own motion. The issue thus arises in what way would equality of arms be ensured if one of the parties appeared in person, the other had a lawyer, the court did not instruct the unrepresented and the subject matter under examination was complex1? In view of the above a greater activity of the court needs to be encouraged, especially with regard to discovery of facts.

Lawmakers have established a number of legal means to ensure protection of the rights and legal interests of individuals. These means include special representation, participation of public prosecutors in civil proceedings, legal representation provided by trade union organizations, etc.

When individuals lacking legal capacity (including minors) have no legal representative and urgent legal protection is required, courts will assign custodians. The court will also assign a representative to the incapacitated where a conflict is found between his interests and those of his parent(s) or custodians (e.g. a defendant mother in proceedings for identification of the father brought up by the child may not act as his representative). In addition to representation of the incapacitated, representation of citizens acting in full capacity is also allowed where they have disappeared or are absent (art. 16, s. 4 CPC), or are the heirs of unoccupied estates (art. 59 Inheritance Act, IA). Those whose absence has been officially proclaimed are represented by their heirs, and all other individuals – are represented by special representatives appointed by the court. Proceedings performed in the absence of an appointed representative are invalid.

The participation of a prosecutor aims at securing the legality of proceedings. The law has expressly provided for cases where participation of a public prosecutor is required, e.g. in adoptions, judicial incapacitation, invalidation of marriages, etc. The public prosecutor does not act on behalf of the individual, however he acts in the individual’s interests and ensures no infringements occur.

The possibility provided in CPC for the representation of employees by trade union organizations and their branches is another measure facilitating access to justice. This enables employees to obtain good quality representation without the need to pay for the services of a lawyer.

1 Human Rights Magazine, No 2/2002.


3.3 Eligibility criteria for granting legal aid in civil cases

Free legal aid is granted when the financial status of the individual prevents him from covering the costs of judicial proceedings. These costs include state fees collected in court cases and amounts determined in the State Taxes Act and Tariffs thereto, as well as other costs in relation to the proceedings.

In view of the social justice principle lawmakers have provided the following:

First, exemption from fees and reimbursement of costs. According to art. 63 CPC, fees and costs will not be paid by claimants listed in art. 5, items c – g2 of the State Taxes Act, nor by individuals who have filed declarations of material status to the district or regional court judge when the latter has determined they have insufficient means to pay the fees and reimburse the costs for the proceedings. In addition, fees and expenses for claims brought by the public prosecutor will not be required to be paid. In these cases, expenses deriving from proceedings are covered by the state budget. Once the claim is honored, they are assigned to the sentenced party.

Art. 5 STA provides for exemption from fees and expenses in proceedings for alimony, rights of employees under labor contracts, remuneration for inventions, etc. All documents and papers are exempted from taxes in proceedings for public prosecution criminal cases, alimony, custodianship, establishment of parenthood, the determination of allowances to mothers with many children, social welfare proceedings, proceedings for social protection of juveniles, the determination of the right to pension and registration and subsequent amendments thereto of cooperatives.

A further facilitation involves a mechanism for determination of fees with regard to certain proceedings on the basis of the taxation valuation of estates and not their market price, which is higher.

3.4 Procedure for granting legal aid

In some cases, assessment of the necessity to grant free legal aid has been conducted by lawmakers, e.g. in cases under art. 5 STA. In other cases assessment is performed by the court, upon request from the interested individual. The individual must submit a declaration with regard to his material status and other evidence requested by the court, e.g. a certificate for the amount of pension received. A written statement refusing the request for fee waivers may be subject to appeal.

Individuals whose financial situation prevents them from hiring a lawyer are entitled to have one without paying his fees. According to art. 35, s. 1 of the Bar Association Act (BAA) lawyers provide legal aid free of charge to individuals in financial difficulty and those entitled to alimony. They may also provide free legal aid to close acquaintances, relatives and other lawyers. Once claims in such proceedings have been honored, the court would determine the lawyer’s remuneration in accordance with an Ordinance of the Supreme Council of the Bar Association and would sentence the other party to pay. The remuneration is always determined to be at least equal to the minimum amount set for the particular type of work.

2 c) claimants – employees – with regard to claims concerned with determination of salary, as well as with regard to other claims based on employment contracts;d) claimants – members of labor and industrial crafts cooperatives – with regard to claims for remuneration for work therein;e) (Repealed, SG 62/2002);f) claimants – with regard to claims based on their rights as inventors;g) claimants – with regard to claims for alimony.


3.5 Scope of legal aid

Free legal aid covers exemption from state fees for filing a claim, the expenses for expert and other witnesses borne by the State, as well as additional free legal aid in compliance with the above restrictions.

3.6 Quality of free legal representation

Mechanisms for control of the activities of legal aid lawyers in civil cases are the same as those covered with regard to legal aid in criminal cases (see section 2.7).

3.7 Application of the right to legal aid in practice

Unfortunately, provisions of the Bar Association Act with regard to free legal aid are not often applied in practice. The application of art. 35 BAA mentioned above is left to the goodwill of each lawyer who may be contacted for assistance.

3.8 Other barriers to the effective access to courts in civil cases

The availability and the number of first-instance courts in suitable geographic locations are necessary to secure affordable civil proceedings to those in need of protection. The same applies to local Bar Associations, which at present number 22. In Bulgaria the judicial system has been conceived to guarantee equal access to all citizens, irrespective of their place of residence within the territory of the country. Travel costs incurred by the parties count for judicial expenses and will be assigned or apportioned in accordance with the Civil Procedure Code. However, Bulgarian court buildings are still not adequately user-friendly; most lack basic amenities.. This has been noted in a number of reports concerned with judicial administration in Bulgaria3.

Practical impediments to access to justice are, to a large extent, a result of the large delays and backlog of civil cases in the courts, the complex procedures, the weak administrative capacity of the Bulgarian judiciary, the lack of clarity regarding the outcome and duration of proceedings, and by the high fees determined in proportion to the amounts claimed. Lawyer remunerations, the low levels of legal education among the general public and the scope of parties’ activity in the proceedings are all factors that further contribute to restricting the access to justice in civil proceedings.

In August 2002 the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee commissioned a study of the basic legal needs of citizens in the areas of civil and administrative law among a representative sample of the population in the country. The study was conducted by Sova-Harris, Bulgaria, and was based on a questionnaire developed by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. The social profile of respondents is described by the following characteristics: retired – 42.9 %, employed under labor contracts – 44.6 %; the largest accumulations with regard to monthly income per family member were found in the following categories: up to BGN 100 – 41.6 %, up to BGN 150 – 16.1 %, and above BGN 150 – 10.6 %. The distribution of men and women was correspondingly of 44.7 % and of 55.3 %. The age structure of respondents was as follows: 18/30 – 20.5 % 31/40 – 15.3 % 41/50 – 16.8 % 51/60 – 16.2 %

3 S., among others, reports on administration and capacity of the Bulgarian judiciary available on the web, at http://www.ewmi-bg.com/, USAID/East-West Management Institute Judicial Development Project for Bulgaria


http://www.ewmi-bg.com/

above 60 – 31.2 %

The following responses were obtained to the question of whether individuals could afford to hire a lawyer: 59.8 % did not need to hire one, 5.9 % had already hired a lawyer, 2.7 % intended to do so, 4.6 % believed their need to hire a lawyer was not sufficiently important, and 12.8 % answered that even though they needed to hire a lawyer, they were unable to afford doing so.

Positive responses to the question of whether individuals were satisfied with the services of their lawyers were 11 %, and the negative ones were 5.2 %. 76.9 % of those questioned had not used lawyers.

Individuals who needed consultations, preparation of various documents or legal representation (i.e. had needed a lawyer) mentioned the following issues for which they required assistance: Personal status issues – 2.9 % Real estate issues – 6.7 % Contracts and tort – 3.9 % Employment relations – 4.4 % Family relations – 1.6 % Inheritance issues – 4.5 % Taxation issues – 1.9 % Social security issues – 0.9 % Administrative disputes – 3.3 % Insurance contracts – 0.6 % Relations involving the police – 1.3 %

The above proves that the state needs to establish a system for meeting the legal needs of citizens in the civil and administrative areas and further, must establish a system for monitoring the level of user satisfaction achieved both by means of the civil process and outside it. The State also needs to introduce mechanisms for control of services with regard to legal needs, such as those of lawyers. Guaranteeing an affordable and fair civil administration of justice in the foreseeable future would considerably increase confidence in the judiciary system.

4. Public law: effective access to the judicial system for the indigent in administrative and constitutional cases and cases before international tribunals

4.1 Normative basis

Constitutional casesProvisions regarding the establishment and powers of the Bulgarian Constitutional Court are contained in Chapter 8 CRB. No opportunity is available for direct constitutional complaints, hence citizens may not be parties to constitutional cases. In accordance with art. 150 CRB right to file a motion with the Constitutional Court have at least one fifth of the Members of Parliament, the President, Council of Ministers, the Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Chief Prosecutor. Municipal councils have limited powers to approach the Constitutional Court outlined in CRB. When the Supreme Court of Cassation or the Supreme Administrative Court finds lack of consistency between the Constitution and legislation, they have to suspend proceedings and refer the issue to the Constitutional Court; thus the two courts have powers to initiate constitutional proceedings.


Administrative casesIn accordance with art. 120, s. 1 CRB the courts exercise control over the legality of the decisions and other acts of administrative authorities, while citizens and legal entities may appeal all administrative acts that have an impact on their situation, except those expressly excluded by virtue of the law. Art. 9 of the Judiciary System Act (JSA) contains a similar provision. Art. 8 JSA states that the right to legal protection must be available at all stages of proceedings.

The two main legal instruments in the area of administrative justice are the Administrative Proceedings Act (APA) and the Taxation Proceedings Code (TPC), both of these (art. 45 APA and para. 21 TPC) referring, as regarding matters not expressly therein set out, to the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code. Therefore, what has been stated with regard to the rights of legal protection and free legal aid in civil cases is relevant in administrative procedural law as well.

Legal protection in these areas is not mandatory and there are no provisions similar to art. 70, s. 1 CPC. That is why individuals wishing to be represented by a lawyer will need to hire one in accordance with CPC provisions. In contrast to civil proceedings, in proceedings for appeal of administrative acts the ex officio principle is still quite active. The opportunity for the courts to collect evidence without a request of the parties, as well as their obligations to investigate issues under art. 43, s. 3 APA facilitate, to a certain extent, the protection of citizens against illegal acts of the administration. However, this does not mean that a citizen would under all circumstances be able to effectively exercise his right to protection without consultation and/or representation by a lawyer, so much so that in judicial administrative proceedings a complainant would usually face an official authority that may always count on competent legal assistance and is, besides, in an incomparably better position to obtain evidence needed in support of their statements.4

International procedures

Bulgaria has ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights (ECHR). Therefore, individuals residing in its territory may approach the European Court (EC) in Strasbourg and, if their financial status does not allow them to meet the expenses of such an action, they are entitled to legal aid as provided for in the Convention and Rules of the court.

However, national legislation does not provide for legal aid with regard to international complaints, including applications to ECHR.

4.2 Alternative (non-state) mechanisms

Various non-governmental organizations and lawyers’ offices offer legal aid. In the lack of any clear institutionalized system for legal aid, however, their existence may only emphasize the problems related to legal aid and access to justice in civil cases and does not contribute to resolving these issues in any significant manner.

5. Organization of the system for provision of legal aid

Art. 21, s. 1 of the Bar Association Act (BAA) indicates that a ruling of the courts for appointment of an ex officio lawyer is sent to the local Council of the Bar Association that will designate the lawyer from the local chapter of the bar association. The relevant court needs to send the Bar Association a letter requesting the designation of a lawyer who will then be appointed as ex officio counsel in a separate ruling.

4 S. Human Rights Magazine, Bulgarian Lawyers for Human Rights, No 2/2002


The BAA lays out a number of duties and obligations for lawyers in their capacity as ex officio counsels. For failure to perform these, they will be disciplined. According to art. 62 BAA the Council of the Bar Association has the power to open and conduct disciplinary proceedings against lawyers from the respective Bar Association. BAA contains a list of disciplinary infringements and the applicable sanctions that may imposed for each. Any failure to perform duties and obligations outlined in the BAA and Regulations of the Council is regarded as an infringement as well as:1. Any omissions or delays in the performance of the lawyers’ duties, which have led to damaging clients’ rights and interests,2. Failure to perform duties listed under art. 20 – 31, inclusive,3. Undermining the prestige of the profession on the occasion and during the exercise of their duties, as well as on other occasions,4. Failure to comply with professional ethics, morality, and the requirements of good working relations,5. Circumventing relevant taxation provisions. Also, a procedure for discipline of lawyers has been provided for.

Art. 101, s. 1 BAA lists possible sanctions:1. Reprimand,2. Fine of BGN 0.1 – 1,3. Deprivation of entitlement to hold elected positions in bodies governing the Bar Association for a period of 1 to 3 years,4. Deprivation of entitlement to practice law for a period of up to 1 year,5. Deprivation of entitlement to practice law forever.

5.1 Role of the courts

In accordance with CPC provisions the court appoints ex officio counsel at the trial stage of criminal proceedings. Corrupt practices in relation to enforcement of this provision have been examined above.

In accordance with Civil Procedure Code provisions a special representative, in cases where his participation in trial is required, will also be appointed by the court.

The courts are not entitled to monitor, of their own motion, the quality of representation, to collect data regarding the representation, or to keep track under a separate heading of costs and expenses incurred legal representation and legal aid.

5.2 The role of the prosecution and the police

Appointment of ex officio counsel at pre-trial is made by the investigator, inquest official or prosecutor. The same problems as those with regard to appointment at the trial stage are found (see section 2.3).

5.3 The role of non-governmental organizations in the process of evaluation of the access to justice

In relation to the evaluation of the access to justice in Bulgaria, a National Access to Justice Forum was held in Sofia that was organized by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, the Ministry of Justice, and the Open Society Foundation within the Access to Justice in Central and Eastern Europe. The partners in this project are the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, INTERIGHTS (London), the Public Interest Law Initiative (New York and Budapest), and the Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (Warsaw).


Results from the research of criminal cases were presented at the Forum, and on this basis existent problems in relation to guaranteeing legal protection, the provision of legal aid and its quality were raised and submitted for discussion.

6 Financial aspects of ensuring effective access to justice for the indigent

There is no separate budget for allocation of funds for legal protection of individuals who cannot afford legal representation. Expenses are covered by the budget of the relevant court.The judiciary budget is constructed such that all expenses relating to legal aid come under the “Other payments and remuneration to staff” heading. That is why funds spent for legal aid are being accounted for together with those for translation, expert witnesses, other experts, cleaning, etc.

7 Data collection

No official statistics are available in Bulgaria allowing for any conclusions with regard to access to legal protection and representation in criminal and in civil cases.

8 Legislative developments

Access to justice has been a point of concern for the European Commission. The Bulgarian Government also adopted reform initiatives in the area. At the National Access to Justice Forum, jointly organized by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria and the Open Society Foundation – Sofia, held in Sofia in April 2002, the Ministry of Justice expressed its firm position of respect for human rights and, in particular, for a fair and affordable trial for all.

The 2001 Regular Report of the European Commission stated:

“B. Criteria for membershipSteps are to be taken to promote equal access to justice (improving free legal aid provision) and to improve the execution of judgments to ensure more effective protection of citizen’s rights.

Concerns have been raised that over a third of criminal case defendants do not have access to a lawyer during trial before a court of first instance. Bulgaria needs to take steps to ensure that fundamental human rights are fully respected, especially though ensuring that in practice all detained individuals who cannot afford a lawyer have access to legal aid.”

The Strategy Paper for The Reform of The Judiciary in Bulgaria, prepared by the Government, provided that one of its goals was:

“IX. Ensure equal possibilities of access to justice

Short-term priorities- preparation of legal amendments in order to improve the free legal aid in civil and criminal procedureMedium-term priorities- creation of a national legal aid office”The Program for the Implementation of the Strategy for Reform of the Bulgarian Judiciary further envisaged:“IX. EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Short-term priorities


Drafting legal amendments aiming at the improvement of free legal aid in civil and criminal cases. Action: 1) Review and assess the effectiveness of all legislation effecting the provision of free legal aid in civil and criminal cases including the Law on the Advocature; the civil and criminal procedure codes and the Judicial Systems Act;2) Develop a strategy for improving the operation of the system of providing such free legal services;3) Draft appropriate legislative amendments consistent with the strategy.Timeframe: Assessment and strategy – Third Quarter 2002; Draft amendments - Second Quarter 2003.Responsible State Entity: MOJ in cooperation with the Supreme Council of AdvocatesCritical Assumptions: Availability of technical/financial resources to compensate drafting group experts.

Medium-term priorities Creation of a national legal aid office

Action: 1) Implement legislative changes in accordance with the strategy and draft amendments referenced above;2) Create national legal aid office to coordinate and implement legal aid assistance throughout the country. Timeframe: Third Quarter 2003Responsible State Entity: Dependent upon strategy and legislative amendments.Critical Assumptions: Passage of amended law(s) by legislature”

At present, a joint pilot project by the Ministry of Justice and the Open Society Foundation – Sofia is working to establishing procedures, rules, scope and financing of a public defender office in Bulgaria.

In light of these developments, the 2002 EC Regular Report on Bulgaria’s progress towards accession still notes that:

“Whilst the legal framework for access to justice and legal aid is essentially adequate, there are significant problems in implementation and ensuring sufficient budgetary resources. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the judiciary keeps official statistics, but surveys conducted indicate that in around 50% of cases at the pre-trial phase and around 30% of cases during the trial, defendants do not actually have legal representation. Funding for this comes out of the general budget for the judiciary, which remains very low. However, the Strategy for the Reform of the Judiciary (see section on the judicial system) foresees improvements in the medium term through establishment of a National Bureau for Legal Aid.”

The situation of access to justice in Bulgaria, from the perspective of protection for the rights of individuals within judicial proceedings, has remained unchanged. There is, however, a clear political will for reform. Still, that will needs to be vested in practical actionif the goals and objectives stated are to be achieved in compliance with the political commitments so far assumed.

9 Conclusion and recommendations

In view of the above, the normative specification of the right only to legal protection and its procedural guarantees is not sufficient to provide for and ensure effective and equal access to justice. An entire system of authorities, procedures and criteria for granting legal aid needs to be set up, as well as the provision of material and financial resources necessary for its operation.


First, however, the State needs to undertake an overall assessment of legal needs in the country in order to be able to define the areas where operation of the future legal aid system will be needed. This, in turn, will pre-determine the institutional model that will best satisfy the legal needs thus identified.

Besides this, the establishment of expense-tracking mechanisms and systems for monitoring quality and other legal aid-related elements is necessary in the country, as well as the collection of detailed statistical data and analysis in view of the accumulation of data for comparison that will allow for competent managerial decisions for improvement, if needed, of the systems operating at any given point in time.

The State also needs to take into consideration the existence of clear, explicit and unambiguous international standards in the area of access to justice, which moreover are binding, in particular by virtue of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

On the basis of statistical information, the assessment of legal needs and the international standards, as well as in view of legal aid models established across the European Union in various branches of the law with regard to various stages of the administration of justice and prior to judicial proceedings(i.e. consultations on relations individuals do form among each other), the Bulgarian State will need to decide on the scope, structure, and manner of funding of the new legal aid system.

Irrespective of any specific legislative or managerial decisions, however, the State needs to be reminded that the legal aid system must be:

- Comprehensive, with regard to the branches of law (civil, administrative, criminal), judiciary, extra-judicial needs, and individuals (eligibility based on need),

- Effective, which also means collecting data on operations, its analysis and responding to needs for improvement where problem areas are identified, and

- Sustainable, so that its operation is secured through financial and other resources.

Unless all of the above activities are performed successfully, problems with regard to the access to justice so far outlined will remain unresolved.


Documents

Access to Counsel in the Criminal Justice Practice of Bulgaria [part2]