Bulgaria: Whether the prosecutor's office maintains records of all complaints received; availability of complaint record to the complainant

The Research Directorate found few further sources of information on the prosecutor's office system of record keeping, in addition to that found in BGR40031.E of 31 October 2002. According to the Head of the "Specialized Information" Department, State Agency for Refugees with the Council of Ministers who, consulted with the Chairperson of the Administrative College of the Sofia City Court, there is no central registry of complaints in Bulgaria (Bulgaria 7 May 2003). Instead, the court initially receiving the complaint maintains the record of it, including following appellant proceedings when records are returned to the court (ibid.).

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC) noted only that the police are "obliged by law to respond to the complaint irrespective of whether or not a violation was found" (2000, Sec. 3.4). In practice, there are a number of reported cases where police and prosecutors refused to accept complaints or initiate investigations (ERRC 2002; ibid. 2001; ibid. Autumn 1997; AI 15 Apr. 1997). No information indicating whether records of complaints that are refused or not investigated are maintained was found among the sources consulted. According to the BHC, the prosecutor's office "should" report its findings to the complainant (2000, Sec. 3.4) – a point also noted also by the department head of the Specialized Information Department who stated that complainants receive notification of court hearings personally and may purchase an "authenticated copy of the record" (Bulgaria 7 May 2003).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Amnesty International (AI). 15 April 1997. "Bulgaria: The Reported Ill-Treatment of Valentina and Nedyalko Zagorov and Pavlina and Georgi Pehlivanov." [Accessed 5 May 2003]

Bulgaria. 7 May 2003. Council of Ministers, State Agency for Refugees. Correspondence with the Head of the "Specialized Information" Department.

Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC). 2000. Yonko Grozev. "Police in Transition: Bulgaria Country Report." [Accessed 1 May 2003]

European Roma Rights Center (ERRC). 2002. Roma Rights. No. 2. "Romani Youth Shot by Police Officer in Bulgaria." [Accessed 5 May 2003]

_____. 2001. Roma Rights. No. 1. "Discrimination and Violence by Officials Against Roma in Bulgaria." [Accessed 5 May 2003]

_____. Autumn 1997. Roma Rights. "Violence Against Roma in Bulgaria." [Accessed 5 May 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Unsuccessful attempt to contact the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior.

Unsuccessful attempt to contact a Senior Criminal Law Program Associate for Bulgaria at the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative of the American Bar Association, Washington DC.

Internet sites, including:

American Bar Association

Amnesty International

Bulgaria 2000 Coalition

Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, Annual Reports

Centre for the Study of Democracy

Council of Europe, Commissioner for Human Rights

Country Reports (2000-2002)

European Roma Rights Centre

European Union

Greek Helsinki Committee

International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Judicial Reform Index for Bulgaria (July 2002)

MINELRES

OSCE

Public Interest Law Initiative

World News Connection