The Center for Environmental Law aims at working with the following
groups of individuals and organizations:
To the non-governmental organizations:
Dear friends and colleagues,
We created this Center with the idea to present the Bulgarian
non-governmental organizations working in the field of environmental preservation
with expert legal help in their activities of defending the public interest.
This would be carried out through legal representation in cases concerning
the environmental preservation, as well as out of the courtroom – through
consultations, discussions and advice on presented problems. With the kind
help of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe
and the Foreign Ministry of the Netherlands we are now able to carry on
with our activities with enlarged capabilities and the capacity for taking
more cases. The help we provide is FREE so as to encourage the application
of environmental law and to stimulate the exercising and understanding
of the rights that are given to the citizens and the organizations by law.
We need to stress on the fact that our gratuitous service is
dedicated entirely to the defense of the public interest. This means that
in order for the Center to take up a case it should meet certain criteria.
The essence of our activity is to aid the implementation of rights that
are personal but have direct bearing to the public’s welfare. In cases
of clearly exhibited personal interest connected to the application of
environmental law we may offer defense for a fee. In this case a contract
is signed between the client and the defending lawyer.
The Center will offer direct consultations, both over the phone and on the spot.
To make an appointment you can call the Center during business hours 10:00-18:00.
We are developing the webpage you are visiting, and you will be able to find
various details about our work, including quarterly reports, texts of various
acts as well as useful links to other websites dedicated to the development of
environmental law.
As a part of its activity the center will give lawyers working in the country
an opportunity to get involved with the implementation of rights of citizens
and organizations. We have planned on the creation and constant update of a database
of the lawyers who have the ability and interest to take up citizens’ defense
(both in and outside of the courtroom). Thus we hope to develop our activity
and to get closer to citizens and their problems.
To further involve the most active participants in the activities on environmental
protection we plan on 2 types of meetings – training workshops and round tables.
In the first, discussions are limited to a certain scope of practical problems
and fewer specialists take part in them. The second type involves the participation
of lawyers from the legal and executive bodies (judges, prosecutors, administrators);
and the scope of the issues discussed is wider and may include practical as well
as theoretical problems.
All expenses for the meetings (travel expenses, hotel, and food) will be paid
for by the Center.
All materials disseminated both before and after the meetings, will be issued
in an easy-to-access form – through brochures or publishing on the Center’s webpage.
We sincerely hope that the near future will make us proud with an actively working
Center, actively supported by the lawyers, working in the sphere of environmental
law in Bulgaria.
To the citizens:
Dear Friends,
We founded this Center with the idea to offer help and assistance to people who
are not indifferent to the environment they live in and would like to make a
better world than the one we know today possible for their children. We firmly
believe that the desired result could be only obtained through adhering to the
active legislation and its development, whether through the appearance of legal
precedents or through incentives targeted at the legislators or active pressure
on the administration demanding its adherence to the powers given to it by law.
We could help you both through legal representation on cases regarding environmental
law and outside the courtroom –by means of consultation discussion and advice
on certain issues. With the help of the Regional Environmental Center for Central
and Eastern Europe and the external ministry of the Netherlands, we got an opportunity
to continue our activity but already under better conditions and higher capacity
for taking more cases. The help we offer is FREE with the idea to encourage the
application of environmental law and to stimulate the implementation and understanding
of the rights that have been legally given to citizens and organizations.
We need to stress on the fact that our gratuitous service is dedicated entirely
to the defense of the public interest. This means that in order for the Center
to take up a case it should meet certain criteria. The essence of our activity
is to help the implementation of rights that are personal but have direct bearing
to the public’s welfare. In cases of clearly exhibited personal interest connected
to the application of environmental law we may offer defense for a fee. In this
case a contract is signed between the client and the defending lawyer.
The Center will offer direct consultations, both over the phone and on the spot.
To make an appointment you can call the Center during business hours 10:00-18:00.
We are developing the webpage you are visiting, and you will be able to find
various details about our work, including quarterly reports, texts of various
acts as well as useful links to other websites dedicated to the development of
environmental law.
As a part of its activity the center will give lawyers working in the country
an opportunity to get involved with the implementation of rights of citizens
and organizations. We have planned on the creation and constant update of a database
of the lawyers who have the ability and interest to take up citizens’ defense
(both in and outside of the courtroom). Thus we hope to develop our activity
and to get closer to citizens and their problems.
To further involve the most active participants in the activities on environmental
protection we plan on 2 types of meetings – training workshops and round tables.
In the first, discussions are limited to a certain scope of practical problems
and fewer specialists take part in them. The second type involves the participation
of lawyers from the legal and executive bodies (judges, prosecutors, administrators);
and the scope of the issues discussed is wider and may include practical as well
as theoretical problems.
All expenses for the meetings (hotel and food) will be paid for by the Center.
All materials disseminated both before and after the meetings, will be issued
in an easy-to-access form – through brochures or publishing on the Center’s webpage.
We sincerely hope that the near future will make us proud with an actively working
Center, actively supported by the lawyers, working in the sphere of environmental
law in Bulgaria.
To the lawyers interested in environmental law:
Dear colleagues,
We have the pleasure to inform you that as of October 2002 the Center for Environmental
Law started its activity, which will be covering the following fields:
Assistance in the correct implementation of the existing environmental legislation
and particularly the regulations concerning the constitutional right to a healthy
and friendly environment as well as the principles for access to information
and decision-making on environmental problems. The accent will be put on defending
the citizens’ rights in any possible way, including in court.
Assistance in the realization of the importance of environmental legislation
and its implementation among lawyers (judges and attorneys) and other professionals
as well as non-governmental organizations.
Creating of professional contacts among the people with interests in the field
of environmental law in Bulgaria as between themselves, so with lawyers working
in the same field abroad.
Our main goal is to cooperate with colleagues – attorneys, judges and prosecutors
who work in the field of environmental law or would like to. For the different
categories we envisage different forms of cooperation but all with the same
common goal – to exchange experience and to discuss problems on the implementation
of environmental law.
As a basis for our mutual work we will create an online discussion network.
A constantly enlarged data-base of lawyers willing to participate in the defense
of the citizens’ rights (in and outside the courtroom) will be an inseparable
part of that network. As the Center’s staff and their physical abilities are
limited we think that the support of our colleagues on the locations will be
actually needed. Entering in the data-base does not mean engaging in the participation
in a law suit or some other activity – each participation will take place after
a specific pre-arrangement.
To further involve the most active participants in the activities on environmental
protection we plan on 2 types of meetings – training workshops and round tables.
In the first, discussions are limited to a certain scope of practical problems
and fewer specialists take part in them. The second type involves the participation
of lawyers from the legal and executive bodies (judges, prosecutors, administrators);
and the scope of the issues discussed is wider and may include practical as
well as theoretical problems.
All expenses for the meetings (hotel and food) will be paid for by the Center.
All materials disseminated both before and after the meetings, will be issued
in an easy-to-access form – through brochures or publishing on the Center’s
webpage.
We sincerely hope that the near future will make us proud with an actively
working Center, actively supported by the lawyers, working in the sphere of
environmental law in Bulgaria.
