Tech & Rights

Deadline Given for Bulgaria to Show Progress on Roma Evictions

After four years, the Council of Europe sets a deadline for implementing the decision of the Strasbourg Court in a Roma eviction case.

by Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has told the Bulgarian government that must provide information on the implementation of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of Yordanova and Others v. Bulgaria.

The case concerns the attempts of the capital's municipal authorities to evict many Roma families from their only homes in the "Batalova mill" without offering them alternative accommodation and de facto leaving them on the street.

The case applications were lodged by Margarita Ilieva, director of the Legal Defense Program of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. In 2012, the ECtHR issued its ruling, declaring the eviction is issued on the basis of flawed legislation that doesn’t provide such arrangements.

Instead of providing guarantees against disproportionate interference, the Bulgarian court expressly refused to consider if the interference was “necessary in a democratic society.” The ECtHR found a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which safeguards the right private life and family life.

According to the decision, Bulgaria must take both individual measures that suspend evictions in violation of the ruling and general measures that correct the cause of the violation – the false legislation.

To-dos

After analyzing what’s already been undertaken by the state, the Secretariat of the Council of Europe noted that it is insufficient and does not comply with the Court's decision. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe reiterated that the principle of proportionality should be examined prior to any eviction.

The body invited Bulgaria to submit by September 1, 2016, the concrete measures undertaken for ensuring proportionate actions when dealing with illegal possession and for terminating the uncertainty in which the applicants live almost four years.

The European Court of Human Rights ordered Bulgaria to amend the relevant law and practice, and noted that it has not yet prepared a bill that provides for the necessary modifications.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee urges Bulgaria to quickly place these regulatory reforms and submit by December 1 information about what has been done and a timetable for the adoption of required legislative reforms.

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