Establishing a balanced workload distribution in the judicial system in Bulgaria

November 2022 – May 2024

Establishing a balanced workload distribution in the judicial system in Bulgaria

The project is co-funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument, and implemented by the Council of Europe, in cooperation with the European Commission.

Context of the project

The project “Establishing a balanced workload distribution in the judicial system in Bulgaria” meets the Updated Strategy to Continue the Reform of the Judicial System in Bulgaria and is in line with the European Commission position that the introduction of a balanced distribution of workloads in the justice system is an issue that need to be addressed to improve the efficiency and quality of its judiciary.

Project’s objectives

The project’s first objective is to improve workload management of judges. For this to be possible, a key focus of the project will aim at a providing a more accurate picture and recommendations regarding the workload of judges and courts based on a strengthened judicial data collection and analysis.

Expected Results

Reports on the control and verification of statistical data and on the workload management of judges will quantify the true scale of the problem, the strengths and weaknesses of the current system, and in which areas the problem is more acute (e.g. geographically, thematically, instance…). To address the missing or inaccurate data identified, recommendations will be provided based on European good practices that that can be undertaken and implemented quickly which could serve as inspiration for actionable changes in the organisation and the methodologies. To ensure the successful implementation of these recommendations, national officials will be trained to ensure sustainability of the system and better dissemination throughout the justice system.

Main activities

Report and recommendations for an updated methodology of the current method for control and verification of the statistical data reflecting the activities of the judicial authorities in Bulgaria.
Capacity building activities to support the implementation of the recommendations for an updated methodology of the current method for control and verification of the statistical data reflecting the activities of the judicial authorities in Bulgaria
Report and recommendations on the existing criteria to measure workload of judges in Bulgaria including recommendations to update the workload system based on European good practices
Capacity building activities to support the implementation of the recommendations for the new workload system.
Enhance better knowledge of CEPEJ tools and European goods practices in these fields

Project beneficiaries and stakeholders

Ministry of Justice of Bulgaria; Supreme Judicial Council; judges, investigators and prosecutors at national and local level; Court Staff.

Link to the DPC/DGREF website

Relevant CEPEJ Tools

Case weighting in judicial systems - CEPEJ Studies No. 28 (07/2020)
SATURN Guidelines for judicial time management (12/2021)
Handbook on court dashboards (06/2021)
CEPEJ Guidelines on Judicial Statistics (GOJUST) (10/2008)

Contacts

Council of Europe - Strasbourg

Emmanuel Baron
Project manager

News

Back Closing of the Project “Establishing a balanced workload distribution in the judicial system in Bulgaria” implemented by the CEPEJ

Ervilda SMAJLAJ

Modified 3 Months ago.

Closing of the Project “Establishing a balanced workload distribution in the judicial system in Bulgaria” implemented by the CEPEJ

On 30 May 2024, a training session on practical tools to improve the control and verification of statistical data and the workload management within the judicial system was organised in Sofia.

CEPEJ experts stressed the importance of accurate statistical data for analysing and improving judicial performance. They introduced participants to the CEPEJ's tools for judicial statistics and to ways of collecting, analysing and visualising data effectively using dashboards. CEPEJ experts also discussed workload measurement criteria and methodologies, analysing strategies for identifying and mitigating shortcomings, improving transparency and aligning workload measurement with organisational objectives.

On 31 May, the closing event of the Project was organised. It brought together representatives from the Ministry of Justice, judges and Council of Europe experts, providing an opportunity for in-depth discussion on the challenges and possible solutions for improving the reliability of the case allocation system and more broadly the distribution of workload in relation to data analysis, decision-making and solving structural problems.

The project successfully met its objectives. The assessments reports and the recommendations on the control and verification of statistical data and on the workload management of judges enabled a precise analysis of the situation with its strengths and weaknesses.

The Supreme Judicial Council announced that the recommendations were endorsed and welcomed the positive changes that can be achieved through their implementation.

These activities were organised in the framework of the project Establishing a balanced distribution of the workload in the judicial system in Bulgaria, co-financed by the European Union via the technical assistance instrument and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.

SOFIA, BULGARIA 30 MAY 2024