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The Bourgas Regional Court opened its new courthouse Information Center with a ceremony attended by judges, court staff, media, and members of the public. Located in the central hallway on the first floor, the Information Center will be staffed by a court clerk and will provide blank forms for requests for court services, brochures, and computer access to case files. The new center has four computer terminals available to the public and attorneys for read-only viewing of both District Court and Regional Court case files.

The opening ceremony included comments from Boriana Dimitrova, Bourgas Regional Court Chair, Ken Stuart, Chief of Party of the USAID Judicial Strengthening Initiative, and Georgi Kouzmanov, Bourgas Regional Prosecutor. Judge Dimitrova stressed how the Information Center will help clerks do their jobs better and will redirect the flow of people in the building. Mr. Kouzmanov congratulated the Bourgas Regional Court and expressed his wish that the prosecutor’s office also has the benefit of an information center.

Information Centers increase transparency of court operations, serve the public, and help to fight corruption. The Bourgas Information Center is the last step in the wide-ranging JSI efforts to ensure the ability of the USAID Courts in Partnership to provide members of the public with the information they may need. Through the Judicial Strengthening Initiative and the JSI grants program, USAID has funded the creation of Information Centers that serve 24 courts in Bulgaria. The Bourgas center was a shared project, with the court bearing the costs for design, IT, and staffing, and USAID paying for construction. The Bourgas courts are also looking to transform the Information Center into a combined registry, ensuring one-stop service for the public.