On-line Broadcasting of Lawsuits and Trails in Bulgaria (e-Court)

The project develops a pilot initiative for broadcasting of real legal proceedings on the Internet that aims at increasing the transparency in magistrates’ work, prevention of the corruption in the justice administration and enhancing the public trust and respect for the Bulgarian judicial system as one establishing conditions for implementation of the principles underlying in the Bulgarian procedural law - “publicity in the trial”.

The specific activities and steps towards achieving these objectives include broadcasting of lawsuits and trials that are of public interest, initiating public debates online, and archiving the broadcasted proceedings in order to disseminate them with educational purposes. The project’s results are direct reflection and immediate assessment of the court’s work. Additionally, the recorded proceedings could be used for attestation of the magistrates.

The project “On-line Broadcasting of Lawsuits and Trails in Bulgaria” received the support and approval of the Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria, The Union of Bulgarian Jurists, American Bar Association Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative (ABA/CEELI), and the Supreme Bar Council. The pilot project is implemented in partnership with Varna District Court and the Bulgarian legal portal LEX.BG. The initiative was self-financed and implemented with the financial support of the Canadian International Development Agency for support of the judicial reform in Bulgaria.

The project is realized with the financial support of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).