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FOI Litigation in Bulgaria

W WW.AIP-BG.ORG. Access to Information Programme. FOI Litigation in Bulgaria. Alexander Kashumov , Head of the legal team AIP. Criteria for Free Legal Help in Court Cases. Provisions to be challenged; Public interest in information; Necessity for legal aid.

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FOI Litigation in Bulgaria

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  1. WWW.AIP-BG.ORG Access to Information Programme FOI Litigation in Bulgaria Alexander Kashumov, Head of the legal team AIP

  2. Criteria for Free Legal Help in Court Cases • Provisions to be challenged; • Public interest in information; • Necessity for legal aid.

  3. Forms of Free Legal Help in Court Cases • Counseling; • Preparing the application and submissions; • Representation in the court; • Non- legal activities: monitoring of cases, media campaigning.

  4. FOI Court Cases • Assisted by AIP : more than 90; • In the Supreme Administrative Court: about 130; • Monitored – 18.

  5. WWW.AIP-BG.ORG FOI cases 2004 - 2005

  6. Requests Related to : • contracts between the gov’ and companies; • State audit reports; • Documents classified before 1989; • Data of public officials or civil servants: property, expenses etc.; • Public services (e.g. health care); • Reports on/ doc’ exposing wrongdoings; • Environmental matters (incl. PHARE, ISPA, EIB etc.).

  7. Media coverage of FOI litigation Jan – May 2005 • 45 Radio and TV shows • 27 Articles in newspapers

  8. Positive Effects of Litigation • It is part of the AI campaigning (civic education) • FOI litigation becomes fashionable (journalists and MPs readily sue the Gov’) • Citizens inspired to refer to court alone • Traditional fields of secrecy or privacy are challenged successfully • Courts give interpretation of the law and guidelines for • Public administration becomes interested in trainings and the court practice

  9. Problems • Court decisions not binding the executives, but sending the case back; • No execution of court decisions; • Bad interpretation of the law • Reluctance to go deeply into the three-part test examination of exemptions

  10. Remedy for problems • Litigation, litigation and litigation • Training for judges, awareness of standards • Changes in law (only if no other way is available). Carefully seeking to foresee the consequences.

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