At its Human Rights meeting on 11-13 June, the Committee of Ministers welcomed the significant progress achieved by the Bulgarian authorities in eradicating prison overcrowding and substantially improving material conditions of detention. It recalled that the European Court considered that the domestic preventive and compensatory remedies introduced in response to the Neshkov and Others v. Bulgaria pilot judgment can be regarded as effective. It also noted that prison conditions continue to improve, which facilitates the functioning of the preventive remedy, and that there is a relative increase of the amounts awarded under the compensatory remedy. In view of this progress, it decided to end its supervision of the execution of the pilot judgment.
The remaining questions regarding further improvement of the material conditions of detention and residual overcrowding (mainly in investigative detention facilities), outdoor activities in the investigative detention facilities, and the amounts of compensation awarded domestically will continue to be examined under the standard supervision procedure in the framework of the Kehayov case. In view of the progress achieved in improving the conditions of detention in police facilities, the Committee also transferred this issue, examined in the Boris Kostadinov case, to the standard supervision procedure.
The use of remedies related to excessive isolation of detainees and the issues of health care will continue to be examined under the enhanced procedure, in the Harakchiev and Toloumov case and the Gavazov case.
Impact of the European Convention on Human Rights in Bulgaria
