1. Nedelchev v. Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant
Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) is a subject to the Access to Public Information Act (ZDOI) and has to consider on the merit a request for public information concerning damages to the budget in the amount of BGN 150 million (approx. USD 83 million) caused by the actions and inactions of the management of the nuclear power plant.”
This conclusion was reached by a panel of the Sofia-City Administrative Court (SCAC) in a case against the refusal of the executive director of KNPP.
With the support of AIP, the refusal was appealed before the SCAC.
With Judgment of 19.06.2024Judge Dimitar Petrov revoked the refusal and remitted the file to the director of KNPP for a new ruling on the information request.
The judgment is final.
2. Veselinova v. Anticorruption Commission
The salaries of the Anticorruption Commission members are public information and the public body cannot withhold access to information about them. The Judgmentof the Sofia-City Administrative Court as of 02.08.2024 repealed the tacit denial and instructed the commission to provide a response to the information request.
The initial request was submitted by the Capital Weekly newspaper journalist Mirela Veselinova who aimed to clarify whether the members of the commission receive a double salary after it was split in two separate commission by a legislative amendment in 2023.
3. Marchev v. Central Electoral Board (CEB)
The information which political parties’ representatives were members of Local Electoral Commissions (LEC) in London during the elections in the last few years was found to be public and subject to provision under an Access to Public Information Act (APIA) request. This was decided by the SCAC with a Judgmentdated 25.06.2024.
The case was started by the journalist Georgi Marchev who requested the information after a public announce that some of those LEC members have been identified as Russian spies. The court obliged CEB to give out the information denying the argument of its lawyers who invoked personal data protection,
4. Prisons’ Officers Trade Union v. Directorate General on Punishment Execution
Were there breaches of public procurement law in the prisons’ system, who was responsible, what sanctions were imposed and what was the final court decision after the appeals. These questions were included in an information request Prisons’ Officers Trade Union (POTU) submitted to the Directorate General on Punishment Execution (DGPE). The latter denied to disclose the file numbers of the court cases. With a Judgment of 12.07.2024 the Administrative Court in Pazardzhik declared the DGPE denial null and void and sent back the case for a decision on the merit.
5. Dimitar Stoyanov (BIRD) v. the Ministry of Finance
On 15.10.2024 the Administrative Court - Sofia City (ACSC) ruled on the case of the journalist Dimitar Stoyanov (BIRD) against a refusal of the Ministry of Finance. The Court set aside the refusal in part and remanded for further proceedings with directions to grant the application the information specified in paragraphs 8 to 12 of the information request. The subject matter of Stoyanov's request was information about the international arbitrage award and settlement agreement in a case between the Sultanate of Oman and the Republic of Bulgaria. It is believed that, being provided, the information could potentially shed light to hidden aspects of the failure of the state authorities to take timely preventive measures in the case of the bankruptcy of the fourth largest commercial bank KTB back in 2013. The court decision is final. The Ministry of Finance invited Stoyanov to review the documents on the spot and he requested assistance from the AIP team.
6. Nikolay Nedelchev (Sofia) v. Kozloduy NPP no 2
On 27.11.2024 the ACSC ruled on the appeal of Nikolay Nedelchev (Sofia) against Kozloduy NPP. The Court reversed the decision to leave Nedelchev's information request without consideration and remanded for a decision on the merits. The subject matter of the application are issues relating to information in the public domain about budgetary damage amounting in total to more than 150 million leva through actions and omissions of the plant's management. Nedelchev has already won one case against refusal to provide the information in the summer of 2024. However, the state-owned company found formal flaws in the information request, it said, and instead of complying with the court's decision, it refused the information again. The court affirmed that the applicant request was regular, and the respondent company should provide the requested information. The decision is final.
7. Emilia Dimitrova (local journalist) v. Secretary of Sevlievo Municipality
On 11.11.2024 the Administrative Court in Gabrovo ruled for the applicant in Emilia Dimitrova (PDI coordinator) v. Secretary of Sevlievo Municipality. The judgment reverses the public body refusal and returns for a new decision on the information request, The subject matter of the request of the well-known local journalist with a number of awards was to get access to the linear schedule for the reconstruction of street water mains in the central part of Sevlievo. The decision is final.
8. Vesela Nikolaeva (local activist) v. The Mayor of Svishtov Municipality
On 27.11.2024 the Administrative Court in Veliko Tarnovo found that the refusal of a mayor to provide a local activist information about the budgetary spendings of the municipality was unlawful. Ruling om the case of Vesela Nikolaeva (V. Tarnovo) v. The Mayor of Svishtov Municipality, the court reversed the denial to provide information after items 3, 4, 6, 7 and 8 of the information request and upheld it under items 1, 2 and 5 therein. The subject matter of the request was information on the municipality's budget for cultural events in 2021 – 2024. The decision is final.