Private Enforcement Agents Speak Out Against Violence
Bulgaria’s new profession of private judgment enforcement agents, established with support from the USAID Commercial Law Reform Program (CLRP) last year, broke new ground at its national conference in November. This was the Chamber’s first major event following the admission of a second group of entrants to the profession earlier this fall, increasing the number of agents to 169.
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| Chamber Chairman Georgi Dichev (center) talks about the two violent
assaults, flanked by Svetozara Petkova of USAID (right) and Ivan Cholakov,
a Chamber Board member (left) |
The conference provided a public forum for the Chamber’s response to two violent assaults against private enforcement agents in previous weeks. The membership voted unanimously to adopt a Protest Declaration addressed to the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, members of Parliament and responsible ministers, and to distribute the statement publicly through the media.
Addressing those present, the Chamber Chairman, Georgi Dichev said, “These crimes only prove that the reform is working. Private enforcement agents are disturbing the forces in society that do not respect the rule of law . . . Our strength doubles today, so does our impact and our responsibilities, and we are not hesitant to execute our public functions and apply the law.”
The Chamber organized the conference to integrate and educate its new members on its values and principles. New agents took their oath of office and participated in an open discussion on issues faced by the new and growing profession, including the development of standards of professional practice, training, and, with CLRP assistance and USAID funding, the creation of a performance monitoring IT system.
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