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Legal Support for Freedom of Information Litigation in Bulgaria

This document outlines the criteria for free legal help in Freedom of Information (FOI) cases in Bulgaria, focusing on the legal team's provisions, forms of aid, and public interest in information access. It covers over 90 assisted FOI court cases, including significant cases in the Supreme Administrative Court. The text discusses the challenges faced, media coverage, positive impacts of litigation, and the need for legal training and awareness. It emphasizes the importance of persistent litigation as a remedy for systemic issues in FOI law enforcement.

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Legal Support for Freedom of Information 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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