Description:

The first edition of the Prosecution Reform Index was published at the end of 2006 in a time of rapid changes in the Bulgarian prosecution including all judicial reforms related to the preparation for EU accession. At that moment only two out of 28 factors were rated positively and 10 received a negative score. The negative trend caused a concern, but the underlying analysis revealed signs of progress and awareness of the need for improvement. Right after the publication PG Velchev formed a PRI Committee tasked with considering the recommendations of the Index, soliciting feedback from the prosecutors and other relevant stakeholders and finally developing a roadmap for reform. The Committee worked out an action plan for reform and was additionally tasked with monitoring and control over its implementation. The second edition of the PRI will provide the Committee and the legal community to actually gauge the reform and develop recommendations for further improvement.

The main goal of the project is to focus reform efforts implemented by the donors and the target country itself to establish a more accountable, effective and independent prosecution in Bulgaria.

Funding/ Support/Partner:

The funding for the Second edition of the Prosecutorial Reform Index (PRI) is provided by the DOJ and the subgrant agreement is between the ABA ROLI and BILI. The US Embassy in Sofia and in particular the DOJ/ OPDAT office provided a significant technical assistance as well as participation in the review process.

Key events:

The roll out of the PRI was carried out on Dec 3, 2010. The Index was presented by the Prosecutor General and the Ambassador of the USA in Bulgaria.

Outcomes:

The second edition of the PRI was published both in English and Bulgarian. At the beggining of 2011 the US Embassy together with the Association of public prosecutors in Bulgaria (APPB) initiated the setting up of a work group for developing concrete measures under the conclusions of the PRI. BILI has also undertaken actions towards implementing the recommendations of the Index but results will be indicated at a later stage.