Bulgaria

[BG] Draft Law on Conflict of Interests

IRIS 2008-8:1/8

Rayna Nikolova

New Bulgarian University

In June 2008 the Council of Ministers submitted to the Parliament the draft of the Law on Conflict of Interests (“Draft Law”).

According to the Draft Law a conflict of interests may exist if:

1. there are private interests of a person who occupies a state position or the interests of persons related to this person, which contradict his/her powers and duties;

2. a person who occupies a state position or persons related to him/her are interested in the results of his/her activities as a person occupying state positions and this may affect the performance of the state officials’ powers and duties;

3. there is reason for distrust in the impartiality and objectivity of the person occupying a state position in performing his/her powers and duties.

Pursuant to the text of the Draft Law the main goals of the new act are the following ones:

1. to ensure that the state and public interests are not influenced by private ones;

2. to prevent state officials from being influenced by their private interests and by the interests of persons related to them;

3. to enhance the public trust in the state institutions;

4. to create conditions for preventing and limiting corruption.

The Draft Law explicitly enumerates the persons occupying high positions who are subject to the rules governing the conflict of interest. Among those persons are the general directors of the Bulgarian National Television and the Bulgarian National Radio. The members of the Council for Electronic Media and the Communications Regulation Commission shall also comply with the conflict of interests rules.