10-04-2024 15:01
A draft National Coordination Mechanism for the effective implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgements was discussed by representatives of the judiciary, the non-governmental sector, academia and the administration.
Currently, Bulgaria lacks a legal framework for the process of implementing ECtHR judgements, which would designate the competent authorities and regulate the relevant procedure. At the same time, the full implementation of these judgements is an international legal obligation of the Bulgarian State under the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. At present, our country is one of the leading countries in terms of the number of outstanding judgements of the Strasbourg Court.
The draft decree provides for the establishment of an advisory council to the Council of Ministers, a group of experts attached to it and a secretariat, as well as a detailed procedure for implementing the judgements. Coordination will take place at two levels, political and expert, with the clear aim of ensuring the efficiency and sustainability of the process of implementing the judgements.
The document has been substantially contributed to by Bulgaria's agents before the ECtHR at the Ministry of Justice and is based on a detailed analysis of the reasons for the ineffective implementation of decisions and a comparative legal study of similar successful practices. At a conceptual level, it was welcomed by the Council of Europe's ECtHR Enforcement Unit at the end of last year.
Participants in the discussion provided constructive comments which will be reflected before the draft is released for public consultation and submitted to the Government for consideration.
The work on the preparation of the document is funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2014-2021 under a project implemented by the Directorate "Representation of the Republic of Bulgaria before the ECtHR", in the Ministry of Justice.