Bulgaria has established "strong reform momentum" in the fight against organised crime and corruption since July 2009, the European Commission said on July 20 2010 in its latest report on the country's performance under the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism on justice and home affairs.

"Still too few cases are concluded in court," the EC said.

There is a need for improvements of professional practice within the police, prosecution and courts for which external assistance will be needed, the Commission said.

"The judiciary must take the initiative more often and show a stronger sense of responsibility. Public funds must be better protected against fraud and conflict of interest."

Bulgaria's new strategy for judicial reform, approved by the Cabinet on June 23 2010, "demonstrates political determination to achieve a profound reform of the judiciary," according to the Commission.

The strategy, in the words of the report, addresses the current shortcomings which should be addressed by Bulgaria as a matter of national priority and in a joint effort by the political level, the judiciary and Bulgarian society.

"Success will require a sustained commitment by Bulgaria, the (European) Commission and other member states," the EC report said.

The Co-operation and Verification Mechanism was put in place in 2007 when Bulgaria joined the EU. An equivalent mechanism is in place for Romania, which acceded to the bloc in the same year.

The stated purpose of the mechanism is to "help put in place an impartial, independent and effective judicial and administrative system properly equipped inter alia to fight corruption and organised crime".

The July 20 2010 report is the fourth annual report since the mechanism was set up. It is widely seen as the most positive, after an encouraging report that emerged in 2009.

Notably, the report says that "organised crime is actively tackled for the first time since the inception of the CVM" and says that since July 2009, Bulgaria has adopted important reforms of its penal procedures.

It was in July 2009 that Boiko Borissov led his party GERB into power in Bulgaria, having defeated the previous socialist-led tripartite coalition government, on a platform of getting Bulgaria out of the economic crisis - and of mounting a serious battle against organised crime and corruption.

Recommendations

These are excerpts from the report's recommendations to Bulgaria:

Recommendations regarding the Reform of the Judiciary
 
While recalling the outstanding recommendations of July 2009, notably regarding the requirement for all courts to publish their judgements online, the Commission invites Bulgaria to take immediate action in the following areas:
 
(1) Implement the new judicial strategy in order to achieve a profound reform of the judiciary. Adopt and implement changes to the Judicial Systems Act that aim at improving training, appraisal and appointment within the judiciary and to strengthen the accountability and efficiency of the Supreme Judicial Council. Strengthen the accountability of the judiciary through a strict application of all legal and disciplinary means to sanction corruption and trade in influence.
 
(2) Improve judicial practice within the prosecution and the courts through a detailed analysis of shortcomings, in cooperation with foreign experts.
Develop manuals of best practice, training programmes and coaching schemes for specific cases and introduce systematic management supervision in courts and prosecutors offices. Promote specific training and the specialisation of police services, prosecutors and judges to enhance their expertise and effectiveness in pursuing complex cases in particular regarding economic and financial crime and organised crime.
 
(3) Pursue work on a new Penal Code in the light of the new Concept of Penal Policy adopted by the Government on 23 June 2010, which contributes to judicial efficiency through i.e. a decriminalisation of obsolete and petty offences. Continue monitoring the implementation of the new procedure codes and consider further improvements. Pursue the creation of a medical inspection agency to improve the quality and expediency of medical certificates requested by court.
 
Recommendations regarding the Fight against Organised Crime
 
While recalling the outstanding recommendations of July 2009, notably regarding specialisation within the judiciary, the Commission invites Bulgaria to take immediate action in the following areas:
 
(4) Strengthen the capacity of the joint teams on organised crime, extend their competence to all organised crime cases and associate CEPACA to assure the freezing and forfeiture of relevant assets during the investigative phase according to operational requirements.
 
(5) Pursue the reform of police in order to create a competent criminal police force able to apply best practices of other Member States.
 
(6) Strengthen further asset forfeiture legislation following the principle of "nonconviction based civil confiscation" and recommendations by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, in particular to ensure the application of law while respecting fundamental rights and freedoms. Consider a right of initiative for the Commission for the forfeiture of Criminal Assets (CEPACA) to initiate proceedings to secure and forfeit assets, introduce rules to secure assets early in the investigative phase in cooperation with the prosecution and
extend the group of related persons to better target criminal activity through forfeiture.
 
Recommendations regarding the Fight against Corruption
While recalling the outstanding recommendations of July 2009, notably regarding the promotion of ex-officio investigations into allegations of corruption and conflict of interest by administrative authorities, further strengthening the inspectorates and
regional anti-corruption councils and safeguarding of whistle-blowers, the Commission invites Bulgaria to take immediate action in the following areas:
 
(7) Improve judicial practice in high-level fraud and corruption cases in line with best practice in other Member States. Apply a comprehensive and pro-active investigative strategy which systematically investigates links between related cases, aspects of organised crime and links to administrative authorities. In order to step up the fight against high-level corruption, Bulgaria should apply
legal possibilities for detention in serious cases more strictly and improve the protection of the witnesses in line with best practice in other Member States.
 
(8) Strengthen the law on the prevention of conflicts of interest, notably through an authority with a pro-active mandate in charge of identifying and sanctioning conflict of interest. Accelerate the implementation of the action plan to implement the National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
 
(9) Perform a continuous risk assessment regarding the implementation of public procurement legislation and target prevention and control activities accordingly in a pro-active and result-oriented manner. Strengthen the capacity of the competent administrative authorities to perform ex-ante and ex-post checks and strengthen the capacity of its help desk where contracting authorities can seek advice. Ensure that all existing sanctions for infringements of public procurement rules against individuals, including disciplinary measures, are fully implemented to strengthen deterrence.
 
(10) Encourage cooperation between procurement authorities to regroup tenders with a view to pool expertise and create economies of scale. Strengthen the training efforts for officials of the competent authorities in order to identify and prevent conflict of interest and other important irregularities in public procurement. Develop and apply best practice of systematic cooperation between competent administrative authorities with judicial authorities.