An Obstinate Citizen Who Seeks the Truth

Georgi Lazarov is challenging the local authority as an individual and as a Chairperson of the Association “Citizens for the City of Pazardzhik”

Kornelia Boyadzhieva

Georgi Lazarov, citizen from the city of Pazardzhik, has won four cases under the Access to Public Information Act (APIA) against the municipality at a first court instance. However, no other results can be counted, as Lazarov said. After the court decision, the correspondence between the citizen and the administration continues either with the provision of unnecessary information, repeated three-four times, or with nothing. Lazarov has not giving up for two years, attacking the local authority in his capacity of both an individual and a Chairperson of the Association “Citizens for the City of Pernik.” Sometimes, the municipality reminds him that he has already received “an answer” in his other capacity.

After it was turned back by the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC), another case ended with a decision of the Administrative Court – Pazardzhik on March 8. The silent refusal of the Mayor Todor Popov was partly repealed. The request was filed by Lazarov in his capacity of Chairperson of the association. He requested information about the sale of a municipal parking on “Tsar Kaloyan” Str. More precisely, he wanted a copy of the decision of the Municipal Council for the change of status of the area; the document justifying the issuing of the act changing the status into private municipal property; the old act for public municipal property.
 
With a letter as of June 2010, the mayor informed the association that the information related to third parties and their consent had to be sought. The court found that the case was not about a silent refusal and in October ceased the proceedings with recommendation toward Lazarov to look for the requested information on the web site of the Municipal Council. Such information was not, however, available there.
The SAC repealed the court decision and turned the case back to the same court panel to decide the case on the merits. On points 1, 2 an 3 the administrative court ruled that the law regulates the right of everyone to receive information, in some cases orally, thus there was no need for the using of the APIA mechanisms. On those grounds, the court dismissed the complaint of the association in that part. Lazarov defines the judgment as a “Jesuit decision.”

The case has been ongoing for a second year. At the Municipal Council session for the sale of the property, a question was raised on when had the public municipal property been changed to private municipal property. The mayor responded that no changes had been made in the status of the property, since it was not necessary. He claimed that the property had never been municipal, but a part of a street.  Lazarov did not give up and obtained a document according to which the status of the area was private municipal property. He said for the newspaper “Videlina” that on March 28 he had informed the Prosecution about the composition of a document with untrue content. According to Lazarov, the property was part of the detailed urban development plan and its status in the cadastre was parking and not part of a street.

March 2011

This case is part of the book "Civil Participation and Access to Information (15 Years of the APIA, 37 stories of NGOs)" published by AIP within the implementation of the project “Enhancing the Capacity of Nongovernmental Organizations to Seek Public Information” supported with a grant under the NGO Programme in Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2009 – 2014 (www.ngogrants.bg).

The whole responsibility for the content shall be taken by the Access to Information Programme Foundaiton and it cannot be assumed under any circumstances that the document reflects the official stance of the  Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area and the Operator of the Programme for NGO support in Bulgaria.