Bulgaria Last but One in EU by Perceived Judicial Independence

Bulgaria is last but one in the European Union by citizens' trust in the independence of the judiciary, according to the 2014 EU Justice Scoreboard.

According to the report of the European Commission, which evaluates the quality, efficiency and independence of the judicial systems in the EU on an annual basis, the level of perceived judicial independence in Bulgaria decreased over the past two years.

Only Slovakia performs worse than Bulgaria in the sphere of perceived independence of the judiciary.

Bulgaria is preceded by Romania in the ranking. Romania has improved its score in the sphere of perceived judicial independence over the past two years.

Bulgaria is also last but one in the EU by budget for courts, followed by Romania.

At the same time, Bulgaria ranks fourth by number of judges per capita.

Upon presenting the 2014 EU Justice Scoreboard, Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, drew attention to the worrying downward trend in perceived judicial independence in some countries where reforms were ongoing.