A Struggling Development of Restorative Justice in Bulgaria

Over the past 30 years, restorative justice in Bulgaria has progressed slowly and has struggled to stay relevant in the hearts and minds of professionals from various fields.  The restorative justice movement – from its initial stages as a primarily academic interest to the professionalisation of restorative justice methods and practitioners – has been marked by various public attitudes towards it. Restorative justice has been understood as: an idea impossible to implement in our country; something foreign, external to our tradition; a salvation for non-performing systems; protection for criminals; danger to victims, etc. Nevertheless, through the sustained efforts of individuals in academia, the prison system,  the judiciary, social work and education, centres of knowledge about restorative justice and its application have been established. These centres now serve as key resources for professionals in these fields, who have come to refer to them for guidance on integrating restorative justice in their work. Gradually, a community of restorative justice specialists was formed, composed of individuals rather than organisations or institutions. These specialists regularly meet and present their work at National Restorative Justice Conferences, an expression of the community’s desire to exchange experience, present their practice and develop the field. This illustrates that there has been a change in attitudes towards restorative justice, and restorative thinking is taking up more and more space in a variety of fields. If we follow legislative amendments in the last 5 years, we will see that the language of the legislator has shifted from retributive to more restorative. There certainly remains more work that needs to be done, but the long-standing efforts of pioneers and professionals in the field have already made an impact.

The result of two large-scale independent national studies conducted in 2022 confirmed the trend described thus far – the uneasy yet significant development of restorative justice in Bulgaria. There is almost no trace left of the old objections to restorative justice, such as that of it being impossible to implement or external to our tradition.  One of the studies, titled "Problem map of restorative justice in Bulgaria", was carried out under Prison Fellowship Bulgaria and was financed by the Good Governance Operative Program[1]. It was clear from the results of this study that the attitudes of most professionals from the criminal justice field about the implementation of restorative measures are positive. On the contrary, victim support advocates expressed a clear refusal of restorative justice based on the assumed lack of protection for victims of crime. The question now is how the legislature will resolve the tensions between the two fields without creating an imbalance and depriving the involved parties of rights which it claims to respect. 

Some of the findings of this research, related to the question "Why is it so difficult to introduce restorative justice practices in criminal justice in Bulgaria?" are contradictory, dual messages, enshrined in legislation,  and an extremely "non-restorative environment". 

The other study, titled “Opportunities for Restorative Justice in Bulgaria within the Framework of Current Legislation - Restorative Approaches in Criminal Justice and in Execution of Sentences. Proposals for Legislative Changes”, was a part of a project to improve the application of restorative justice mechanisms implemented by the Supreme Judicial Council. The study analysis presents restorative justice and its practices as valuable; implementing restorative justice could open significant opportunities in operative legislation. Through these findings, the Supreme Judicial Council validated the possibility of implementing restorative justice in the current legislation, contrary to arguments in support of postponing the implementation of restorative measures until legislative reform[2].

The internal process of consolidating a professional community interested in justice was supported by the wider European context, namely: 1) the adopted Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)8 concerning restorative justice in criminal matters,  and  2) the active support of the European Forum of Restorative Justice to conference organisers and to its members from Bulgaria, including organising the 2023 Summer School in Varna.

Against this background, on the 20th of January  2024, the Restorative Justice Association was established in Bulgaria. Its founders are composed of judges, academics,  social workers, and therapists, all of whom are leaders of restorative thinking in their respective fields and key actors in the long process of establishing restorative justice in Bulgaria[3]. The Restorative Justice Association organised its first event for this year’s Restorative Justice Week. All of us members of the Restorative Justice Association are extremely happy that we have made a space at the centre of the restorative justice community in Bulgaria. 

Let's wish each other success!

[1] The research team involved Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova, Prof. Dr. Martin Kanushev, judge Rositsa Toncheva, and the practitioners Maria Genadieva, Zvezditsa Kovacheva and Elena Evstatieva

[2] The team that worked on the analysis consisted of the judges Miroslava Todorova, Kalin Kalpakchiev, Vladislava Tsarigradska.

[3] Borislava Gitsova – social worker, facilitator of restorative justice in schools; Vladimir Valkov – judge; Valentina Karaganova – teacher at the National Institute of Justice and the New Bulgarian University, long-time employee of the Ministry of  Justice General Directorate “Execution of  Penalties”; Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova – Varna Free University, Deputy Chairperson of the Board of the Restorative Justice Association; Dr. Daria White – lecturer at Liberty University, USA; Elena Evstatieva – psychotherapist, Chairperson of the Board of Restorative Justice Association, EFRJ member; Zvezdica Kovacheva – social worker, restorative justice facilitator in schools; Kalin Kalpakchiev – judge; Maria Petkova – Family Group Conferences facilitator, member of the Board of Directors of Restorative Justice Association; Miroslava Todorova – judge; Rositsa Toncheva – judge; Simona Vasileva- Fudjimori – photographer and member of the  Board of Trustees of the  People’s  Community Center “Aleko  Konstantinov”; Assoc. Prof. Rumen Petrov – psychotherapist, member of the Board of  Restorative Justice Association, EFRJ member.

Dobrinka Chankova is a Professor of Criminal Procedure Law at Varna Free University, Bulgaria, specialising in restorative justice, victimology, and mediation. With over two decades of teaching and research experience, she has published extensively and served as an expert for Bulgaria's National Assembly, and the Council of Europe, and is a member of the European Forum for Restorative Justice.

Elena Evstatieva is a psychodrama psychotherapist and group dynamics trainer. Part of her practice is related to building restorative communities in Sofia and Vratsa prisons (2003 - 2016) as part of the PF Bulgaria team. In recent years, she has worked diligently to promote restorative justice in Bulgaria and to create a professional community in this field. She is the current Chair of the Board of the Restorative Justice Association in Bulgaria.

Published on the 18th of December 2024.