Reports and Analyses

Report with recommendations “Access to Information in Administrative Courts and the Supreme Administrative Court" (available in Bulgarian) was presented on March 25, 2022 at an online conference before participants including the Deputy Minister of Justice, chairs of regional administrative courts, judges from the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), civil society organizations representatives and journalists.

The report is based on a review and analysis of the legislative framework related to obligations for active  publication of public information of the Supreme Administrative Court and Bulgaria's 27 administrative courts, their current internal rules, and a review of case law, and publication practices on the websites of the aforementioned institutions.

In 2020, the AIP team formulated and sent interviews to the SAC and all administrative courts with the help of AIP coordinators in the regional cities. All courts with one exception provided answers to the interviews, which shed light on the courts' application of the legislation related with transparency and proactive publication of information.

In the period February - March 2021, three online expert meetings were held with three main target groups involved in the process of either requesting or providing information by the administrative courts and the SAC: court reporters; NGOs working in the field of judicial reform; and representatives of the SAC and the administrative courts.
 
In the period July 23 - August 23, 2021 a survey was conducted on the websites of the SAC and the administrative courts. The audit was based on a methodology specially designed by the AIP for the goals of the project "Transparency in Administrative Justice". The audit's questionnaire included 46 questions, divided into three sections, related respectively to the publication of administrative, judicial and financial information. Results of the Active Transparency Rating of Administrative Courts 2021 are accessible in English HERE.

The report also takes into account AIP's extensive experience in legal help and lititgation representation in court cases against refusals of access to information related to the judiciary.

The report was conceived by 3 AIP experts – attorneys-at-law Alexander Kashumov (head of AIP legal team), Kiril Terziiski and Stephan Anguelov (members of legal team).

 

The realisation of the report with recommendations and of the conference were made possible as part of the "Transparency in Administrative Justive" project funded by the America for Bulgaria Foundation.

AIP prepared and published a Concept Paper on Amendments to the Access to Public Information Legislation. The Concept aims to present a broad range of problems stemming from the Access to Public Information Act implementation practices and possible solutions for their overcoming. The  Concept  was  prepared  by AIP experts  Alexander  Kashumov,  Gergana  Jouleva  and  Darina Palova. Remarks and suggestions were goven  by  Anton  Stoichev  from  the  organization Obshtestvo.bg.

Concept Paper on Amendments to the Access to Public Information Legislation, Access to Information Programme, 2015, 64 pages, ISBN 978-954-9953-51-0

AIP performed an audit on institutional web sites and launched an updated 2013 Active Transparency rating. The audit was performed within the period 7 – 25 January 2013. A team of AIP reviewed and evaluated 489 web sites of 490 executive bodies at a central, regional, and local level, and also public-law entities and 7 independent state bodies.
The aim of the audit, which AIP performs since 2006, is to evaluate how the executive bodies fulfill their obligations for proactive publication of information online under the Access to Public Information Act and other legal regulations and to assess their readiness to respond to electronic requests. The level of transparency was evaluated on the base of 40 (43 for the municipalities) indicators. On the base of the indicators, AIP launched an updated 2013 Active Transparency Rating.
Author of the analysis of the results is Gergana Jouleva, AIP Executive Director. The analysis andcomparative data from AIP audits 2010 – 2013 are part of AIP annual report Access to Information in Bulgaria 2012.
 

Access to Information Programme (AIP) held the Conference Advocacy for Access to Information – Achievements and Challenges on June 15 – 16, 2012 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The conference was dedicated to AIP 15 years’ advocacy work in the field of access to information.

AIP has summarized the speeches and the outcomes of the discussions during the conferenceAdvocacy for Access to Information – Achievements and Challenges. During the two days conference,  leading organizations in the access to information area from 12 countries (Armenia, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Georgia, Macedonia, Poland, Russia, Romania, the Czech Republic, Spain, UK) shared achievements and discussed the challenges for the freedom of information advocates. 

The Access to Information Programme team performed an audit on the institutional web sites within 23.01 – 16.03, 2012. The purpose was to evaluate the legal obligations under the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) and other laws for online publication of information. Audit results were presented at a press conference on April 4, 2012 at the Bulgarian News Agency and were widely covered by the media.
Author of the analysis of the audit results is Gergana Jouleva, AIP Executive Director. The analysis and the Comparative data for 2010 - 2012 are part of AIP annual report Access to Information in Bulgaria 2011.
More about AIP audits and surveys in the special section: http://www.aip-bg.org/en/surveys/2012/204468/.

The AIP team performed an audit on the institutional web sites within 22.02 - 25.03.2011 with the purpose to evaluate the implementation of the obligations under the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) for online publication of certain categories of information and under other regulations for active disclosure of public information by the executive power bodies at a central, regional, and local level.
Author of the analysis of the results is Gergana Jouleva, AIP Executive Director. The analysis and the comparative data for 2010 and 2011 are part of the AIP annual report Access to Information in Bulgaria 2010 which was presented on May 4, 2011 at a special pressconference in Sofia.
More about AIP audits and surveys in the special section: http://www.aip-bg.org/en/surveys/2012/204468/.

AIP performed the assessment of the institutional web sites within 10.02.2010 - 02.03.2010 with the purpose to evaluate the implementation of the obligations under Art. 15a of the Access to Public Information Act for online publication of certain categories of information by the executive power bodies at a central, regional, and lical level. Pursuant to the December 2008 amendments to the APIA, the period for preparation ended in December 2009. AIP has reviewed 499 web sites out of a total of 511.
Comparative results from the assessment of institutional web sites performed by AIP in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010.

Analysis of the results is also inseparable part of AIP annual report Access to Information in Bulgaria 2009.

The survey was performed within the period 10.02-05.03.2009. The survey was prepared by the team of AIP and aimed to evaluate the readiness of the institutions to answer requests submitted electronically. Analyses of the results are incorporate part of AIP annual report Access to Information in Bulgaria 2008.
More about AIP audits and surveys in the special section: http://www.aip-bg.org/en/surveys/2009/206924/.

Access to Information Programme held a National Round Table (NRT) on March 14, 2008, Sofia. Problems faced by nongovernmental organizations when they exercise their right of access to information were discussed and strategies for advocacy work in the area were be outlined at the forum. Participants at the National Round Table discussed and adopted a Memorandum with specific recommendations for the improvement of the access to information situation in Bulgaria.

This report, prepared in 2004 using the methodology of the Access Initiative of the World Resources Institute, presents analysis of relevant legislation and assessment of characteristic cases. Experts from AIP and the „Borrowed Nature” Association evaluated the work of state institutions in four categories: provision of access to information; encouragement of public participation in the decision-making process; provision of access to justice on environmental issues; and attempts at building administrative capacity and the activeness of NGOs and citizens in exercising their rights.
The national team, working on the project in Bulgaria, comprised Alexander Kashumov, Darina Palova, Gergana Jouleva, Kiril Terzijski, and Nikolay Marekov from Access to Information Programme and Petar Radev and Stoyan Yotov from “Borrowed Nature” Association. Diana Bancheva (AIP) worked on the English version of the project resume.
Besides, Response Scores by Indicator are available.

This report presents the results of the sociological survey „Fulfillment of the Obligations under APIA by the Bodies of the Executive Power 2002.” It outlines developments in the implementation of the law during the previous years and covers the bodies of the executive and the 100 largest Bulgarian municipalities by population.
The report is published in the frame of the project "Practical Access to Democracy in Central and Eastern Europe" implemented with the leading role of Article 19 with the financial support of the European Initiatve for Democracy and Human Rights.

This report outlines the implementation problems faced by public authorities and their preparedness to apply the law almost one year after its adoption. AIP and the Agency for Social Analyses conducted the survey and compiled the report, which covers tha central bodies of executive power and their territorial departments, as defined by the Administration Act and as listed in the Register of Administrative Structures. We also studied the 100 largest Bulgarian municipalities by population.
The report on this survey is published within the frame of the project Advocacy for the implementation of APIA and judicial review with the finical support of the Open Society Foundation - Sofia.

This report published in February 2000 outlines the condition of public registers, both from the point of view of public authorities and from information seekers. It contains a systematic overview of the regulated registers in Bulgaria. The choice of the registers studied was aimed at facilitating public access to the greatest extent, which is why we chose the registers for which the demand for information was highest.

This publication presents detailed analysis and well-grounded proposals drafted by AIP experts in 1998 related to the regulation of the right to information access in Bulgaria. The concepts elaborate the principles of a future law, including its purpose, who should have the right of information access, institutions that should be obliged to provide access, the scope and purpose of access to information, the exceptions to this right, and the mechanisms for providing information and for the protection of this right.
Experts who took part in the group working on the concept were: Alexander Kashumov, Gergana Jouleva, Dimitar Totev, Vesela Terzieva and Yonko Grozev from the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Meglena Kouneva, a lawyer from the legal department of the Council of Ministers, Konstantin Palikarski, Fany Davidova. Also, Valeri Dimitrov, Stanislava Kuyumdzieva, Ralitsa Peeva got into the discussions.