EC: Report on Bulgaria and Romania under CVM
Bulgaria:
Fight against organised crime - The restructuring of the prosecution service to increase efficiency in prosecuting serious crime started in September 2008 following the critical EC Report. A more open dialogue is now being conducted and the presence of serious corruption and organised crime is no longer denied. Joint teams of police, prosecution, National Investigation Service and State Agency of National Security have improved co-ordination. Progress has been significant with regards to a growing number of investigations and indictments with regards to EU fraud. Progress with regards to organised crime has been more ad hoc and patchy. A few members of organised crime groups have been imprisoned but their sentences shortened as a result of plea-bargaining to expedite the procedure given the inefficiency of the system.
Reform of the judiciary – The judicial system remains extremely inefficient leading to long delays in criminal proceeding. Procedures are extremely formal and offer many opportunities for defendants to stall. A working group of the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has made recommendations to accelerate cases of “high public interest” that have been subject to multiple delays but the impact of this system so far has been questionable. The Inspectorate of the SJC is investigating disciplinary violations and trying to improve some of the systemic weaknesses of judicial practice. Recommendations to reform the legal code have not been followed up. There are also shortcomings with respect to legislation on the forfeiture of criminal assets. Excessive formalism and a lack of accountability lead to delays and passivity of the bench.
Fight against corruption – A new anti-corruption strategy is being drawn up. Indications of fraud and corruption are widespread but law enforcement agencies are passive in initiating investigations. This perhaps reflects limited political support and a feeling of insecurity if examples of high-level corruption are exposed. Bulgaria should, then, consider setting up specialised structures for prosecuting and judging high level cases which would be politically and functionally independent of the authorities. Investigators would then have a mandate to be pro-active.