BULGARIA: Improvement of administrative justice in view of the fight against corruption (Twinning)

The aim of this project, which was carried out in cooperation with the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), was to improve the legal and organisational framework of administrative justice in Bulgaria. The project assisted, advised and supported the introduction of a modern system of administrative legislation establishing effective mechanisms for external judicial control and internal review over the work of the public administration which should help to prevent corruption and encourage an effective impartial service of the public administrative agencies. The project aimed at providing direct assistance to the Bulgarian executive and judiciary in drafting the Administrative Procedure Code.

Furthermore, the project was designed to promote the independence of administrative courts, on the one hand by aligning the Bulgarian legislative with the administrative jurisdiction of maximum EU standards, and on the other hand by carrying out trainings for judges, public prosecutors and court clerks. While the main work on the first two project components with the submission of concrete recommendations and draft model legislation was completed in the year 2004, the project implementation 2005 primarily focused on the design and conducting of trainings. These comprised the presentation and discussion of the draft for the future administrative law, which was elaborated jointly by the Bulgarian and the other members of the project team. Austrian experts made a contribution to the development of curricula and training materials as well as in the implementation of pilot trainings.