America for Bulgaria Foundation shares the concerns voiced by many respected nonprofits regarding the proposed amendments to the Judicial System Act, submitted by Members of the Bulgarian National Assembly on July 4, 2017. These amendments would ban foreign and particularly non-EU funding for professional organizations of judges, prosecutors, investigators and court clerks.
In addition to being inconsistent with the Bulgarian Constitution and multiple international acts safeguarding the freedom of association to which Bulgaria is a signatory, the proposed legislation undermines the Euro-Atlantic values shared by Bulgaria and its EU and NATO allies and the long-standing legacy of friendship and goodwill between America and Bulgaria in so many areas of public life – business, education, civil society, cultural heritage, and arts and culture.
We strongly reject the allegations that access to “foreign financing” implies dependence of the recipient and opens a channel for undue “influence on the judiciary”.
The America for Bulgaria Foundation supports the appeal of representatives of civil society to the Members of the Bulgarian National Assembly to withdraw or reject the proposed amendments to the Judicial System Act.