Bulgaria

MDAC has been working in Bulgaria with partner NGOs and lawyers since 2002.

Current situation

Bulgaria has a major problem with institutional warehousing of people with mental disabilities, including abandonment of children in institutions. Although Bulgaria has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) in 2012, as our recent report revealed, the right to live in the community is still denied to people with mental disabilities due to the lack of community support services and the failure of successive governments to effectively and speedily implement de-institutionalisation plans. Placement in institutions results in severe restrictions of the rights of children to inclusive education, and the rights of all people with disabilities to live in the community, to have a family life and to participate in society. Ill-treatment, abuse and neglect continue in children’s institutions despite international attention.

Bulgarian law does not respect the right to legal capacity, with people under guardianship being deprived access to justice and political participation.

MDAC activities

Litigation

MDAC has an active litigation docket, both before domestic courts and at the European Court of Human Rights, and has achieved some notable successes on both the national and international levels. The successes include the following:

On 17 March 2015, in Stankov v. Bulgaria, the European Court of Human Rights again found Bulgaria guilty of illegal detention and degrading treatment. You can read a full case summary here. Due to Mr Stankov’s placement and unlawful detention in a social care home, the Court found a violation of Article 5 (1) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Court also found violations of Articles 5(4) and 5(5) of the ECHR because Mr Stankov had no possibility of challenging or seeking compensation for his detention. Mr Stankov's right to a fair trial under Article 6 (1) of the Convention was also violated as the Bulgarian government has yet failed to implement the general measure ordered in Stanev v. Bulgaria and Mr Stankov - as many other people placed under partial guardianship - had no direct access to court to seek review of the guardianship order. Moreover, due to the living conditions in the institution, Mr Stankov was subjected to degrading treatment in violation of Article 3 of the Convention. Since he could not receive any compensation for the degrading living conditions, his right to an effective remedy under Article 13 was also violated.  

On 17 January 2012, in the case of Stanev v. Bulgaria, the European Court of Human Rights delivered a judgment finding that Bulgaria violated Article 5(1) of the ECHR. The Court found that  the applicant's involuntary placement in a social care institution by his guardian constituted deprivation of liberty, the first time that the Court had made such a finding. As Mr Stanev was legally unable to challenge or seek compensation for his detention, Articles 5(4) and 5(5) of the ECHR were violated. The Court also held unanimously that Mr Stanev had been subjected to degrading treatment in violation of Article 3 of the ECHR by being forced to live for more than seven years in unsanitary and unlivable conditions, and that domestic law did not provide him any remedy for such violations. This was the first case in which the Court found a violation of Article 3 in a social care setting. The Court also found a violation of Mr Stanev's right to a fair trial under Article 6 because he had no direct access to bring proceedings to challenge his placement under guardianship.  Since Mr Stanev is still under partial guardianship at the end of 2014, MDAC has initiated proceedings for the restoration of his legal capacity before domestic courts. We are also seeking reimbursement from the Ministry of Labour and Social Politic for his pension which was withheld while he was in the institution to pay the costs of his stay in degrading conditions.

BH v. Ministry of the Interior (2010) and BH v. State Psychiatric Hospital (2014) :  BH is a woman who was reported to be suffering from a mental illness but did not meet any criteria for involuntary placement in a psychiatric facility. Domestic courts found violations of her human rights (involuntary treatment and ill-treatment, unlawful detention, violation of her privacy rights) and awarded compensation for her suffering.

Case of Georgi Cenov: The applicant is a person whose legal capacity had been restricted and who had been living in an institution all of his childhood and most of his adult life. Through litigation, his legal capacity was restored and he was allowed to leave the institution to live in a supported residence in the community in 2008. Currently we are seeking compensation for the appalling conditions in the institution where he was forced to live against his will and for the lack of support services enabling him to live in the community. 

MDAC v. Bulgaria: in 2007 MDAC brought a case to the European Committee on Social Rights challenging the complete lack of education of children in “Homes for Mentally Disabled Children” – this involved approximately 3,000 children with intellectual disabilities. The Committee found that Bulgaria had violated its obligations under Article 17 of the Revised European Social Charter to provide an education to all children, and found a violation of the right to non-discrimination (Article E). The case and the recommendations to the Bulgarian government following the judgment were widely used as arguments for changes in the law in the area of education - especially for children with disabilities. Now the law contains the right to equal access to education for all children, including children with disabilities.

Other cases pending before the European Court include cases related to a death in a psychiatric hospital of a person who was subjected to both chemical and physical restraints and the State’s failure to investigate the death and cases related to involuntary detention in psychiatric institutions. As to our cases pending before domestic courts and other judicial bodies, we are challenging a mayor's discriminatory decision to refuse to sign a contract for supported housing with owners due to their mental disability. MDAC has also embarked on litigation to seek justice and compensation for past violations of the rights of children placed in the children’s institution in Mogilino and Krushari and the physical and emotional harm caused to them. Our litigation seeks legal recognition that the treatment children experienced in Mogilino and Krushari amounts to torture and ill-treatment and that the victims are entitled to appropriate remedies.

Advocacy

MDAC continues to advocate for the effective implementation of the CRPD by the Bulgarian Government and is involved in domestic advocacy for reform of guardianship laws. MDAC continues its advocacy to achieve full and proper implementation of the judgements in the Stanev and Stankov cases. In 2008 MDAC produced a report on Guardianship and Human Rights in Bulgaria (in English and Bulgarian). In September 2014, MDAC published a report called “My Home, My Choice in Bulgaria” based on 17 indicators which assesses the country’s progress in implementing Article 19 of the CRPD. See more information here.