News Archive

Judges and court staff from across Bulgaria completed two trainings, in Varna and Plovdiv, focused on developing strategic plans to improve trust and confidence both inside and outside the courthouse. The second workshop took place on December 1 in Plovdiv. The regional workshops were led by the USAID Judicial Strengthening Initiative, and involved representatives from 19 USAID Model Courts and Courts in Partnership. The trainings emphasized the importance of building internal organizational trust first, through a transparent process based on teamwork, laying the foundation for improved outreach to the public.

Linked to the USAID Court Improvement Plan, the trainings emphasized key outreach tools such as information centers, courthouse signage, media work, and customer service. Guest lecturers from the Plovdiv and Varna courts led discussions on how to partner with journalists to give greater reach to ongoing reform work. Also discussed were less visible efforts to improve court administration. Participants discussed how to incorporate key areas of court reform such as case delay reduction, random case assignment, and use of model hiring processes into broader outreach goals. Judges and staff developed plans for unifying court improvement activities in order to build trust within judicial institutions.