Information day for promoting the ombudsman institution on local level
Plovdiv, October 11, 2002

On October 11, 2002, an information day for promoting the ombudsman institution was held in Plovdiv. The activity was organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy jointly with the Bulgarian Association for Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution, Plovdiv.

The first part of the activity was devoted to the topics Alternative Dispute Resolution. Mediation. Ombudsman and Main Problems and Difficulties in the Relations between Citizens and Administration, presented by Ms. Zoia Gerassimova, Chair of the Bulgarian Association for Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution, Plovdiv, and Ms. Antoaneta Tzoneva, Sofia Municipality Local Civic Mediator, respectively.

In the following discussion many questions, connected with the possibilities of establishing the ombudsman institution were asked, especially regarding the indepedence of the ombudsman, the financing of the Institution, the powers of the ombudsman, and the terms of office.

In the second part of the event the experts from the Office of the Sofia Municipality Local Civic Mediator Ms. Krassimira Natan and Mr. Svetoslav Georgiev presented the Draft Laws on the Ombudsman submitted to the National Assembly and made a review on the existing legislation in this field in some European countries. The main topic in this part of the discussion was the possibility of creating a civic mediator on municipal level.

The Chair of the Plovdiv Court of Appeals, judges from the district and regional courts, prosecutors, municipal counsellors, representatives of NGOs, citizens, and journalists took part in the event.

Agenda of the seminar