The Justice Ministry is drafting a completely new law on child justice, its press office said. A working group is preparing the outline of the law.
Justice minister Nikolay Naydenov met Mio Nemoto, the new UNICEF representative in Bulgaria. They discussed joint projects to protect children's rights and work on child justice. Naydenov said he has worked with UNICEF for years and that this matters for the legal protection of children.
"It is high time child justice was put at the top of the agenda, and our government has already acted," Naydenov said.
The ministry is drafting the law with ombudsman Velislava Delcheva, the Interior Ministry and other bodies. It said two months ago that work on the law had begun.
The changes affect the Law on Anti-Social Acts of Minors and Juveniles. The ministry wants the law reviewed again in light of new social conditions, current expectations and modern standards on children's rights. It also wants the change handled responsibly and seen through to the end.
Naydenov and Nemoto also went through the draft of Annex No. 2 to the Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the ministry, the National Legal Aid Bureau and UNICEF, signed in September 2024. The annex's work plan for 2026-2027 provides for specialised training for lawyers and better legal aid for children who have suffered violence. It also plans closer work between the bureau's regional counselling centres and support services under the "Zona ZaKrila" model.
UNICEF rates as a success the model under which state and municipal bodies in Bulgaria protect children and women who have suffered violence, and work with children in conflict with the law and their families. The organisation says the experience could also help other EU countries.
So far the partnership has trained 75 lawyers from the appeal court districts of Burgas, Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo. Another 31 representatives of unaccompanied children have taken part in specialised working sessions.