Public Trust in Bulgarian Judiciary Remains Critically Low, Legal Barometer

Gallup International revealed the results from its regular research on the fight against corruption and the condition of the judiciary in Bulgaria, alongside the civil initiative project Legal Barometer.

The topic of the research has been Ministry of the Interior and the Judiciary System, and the leader of the civil project is former Bulgarian Educational Minister Daniel Valchev.

He is currently a professor in the law department of the Sofia University St St Kliment Ohridski.

The survey has been conducted between January 30 and February 5 2015 among 1011 respondents and was administered by Gallup International Balkan.

The respondents have deemed Bulgarian legislation as declining in efficiency in the period 2012 to February 2015.

Asked what are the main weaknesses in Bulgarian legislation, an increasing number of people responded that the laws themselves are good but their application in reality is not effective.

A high number of people marked the answer ''I don't know'' when asked if they know which institution to turn to when their rights are violated. Several institutions mark a decline in overall trust, including the National Assembly, the courts of law, police and the Prosecutor's Office.

However, there is an increased tendency for citizens to file lawsuits in the European courts, as they are believed to be more reliable in terms of just verdicts.

Among the main reasons behind law violations are seen corruption ( with 55% of respondents), people's unwillingness to follow the rules, the slow and tedious court proceedings, too frequent law amendments, and not knowing the effective laws.

The majority of people (60,7%) also don't believe an effective reform can be implemented this year that will counteract corruption in the local police and judiciary.

The findings of the report were revealed just a day after Bulgaria was ranked in the last but one spot in terms of perceived judicial independence according to the EU Justice Scoreboard. 

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