The Double Standard and Bulgarian Justice

The American ambassador, James Warlick, is right. There are two judicial systems in Bulgaria: one for the wealthy and powerful, and one for the poor. But is a double standard extrinsic to the nature of U.S. courts?

Not long ago I wrote an article, published by 24 Hours, that examines that very issue — the double standard — in regard to road accidents. Probation is often the outcome when well-known and wealthy people in Bulgaria are taken to court for fatal road accidents involving drinking and driving. On the other hand, when the injured party is a relative of someone with power, the sentence may include up to 10 years in jail, even when drinking is not involved, and the overall circumstances are relatively favorable.

Still, let’s look at the facts and avoid typecasting. Not everything in the Bulgarian judicial system follows that double standard rule. It is true that the list of famous and wealthy defendants who have been found innocent by Bulgarian courts is long: the former Minister of Defense, Nikolay Tsonev [charged with malfeasance and the signing of corrupted deals];* the former Chairman of State Agriculture Fund, Asen Drumev [charged with misappropriation of European funds];* the former member of Parliament and Minister of Agriculture, Ventsislav Varbanov, etc.

We have to notice, though, that there are also plenty of public figures who were found guilty: the former head of the National Revenue Agency, Maria Murgina; the former CEO of the Bulgarian Kremikovtzi steel mill and well-known politician, Alexander Tomov; and infamous businessman Mario Nikolov [charged with embezzlement and misappropriation of European funds].* I will not go into the details, and I do not want to make comments on whether the sentences were fair or not. However, I do want to point out that there are wealthy public figures with close connections to power to whom harsh sentences have been handed down by Bulgarian courts.

There are also examples of prosecutions that started on the wrong path but were later corrected by a higher judicial body. Ivaylo Drajev, who was taken to court twice for drinking and driving, was first put on parole for two years, even though the charges against him included the death of three passengers and the severe injuries of one. [Ivaylo Drajev is a Burgas-based businessman and former president of the Bulgarian soccer club Chernomorets.]* It is clear what kind of trial took place in this case. The lack of justice, though, was corrected by the Supreme Court, and Ivaylo Drajev is in jail today.

The acquittal that was given to the suspects who supposedly murdered the Bulgarian student Borilski in Paris was also revoked by the Supreme Court, after France put pressure on the Bulgarian judicial system, and a private attorney was put in charge. [Borilski, a Bulgarian Sorbonne student, was brutally killed in Paris in 2000; the two suspects, Georgi Zhelyazkov and Stoyan Stoichkov, had been able to escape from justice for almost 10 years, although French authorities claimed to have irrefutable evidence that the suspects committed the crime; in 2010 the suspects were finally sentenced to 17 and 19 years in prison.]*

With all that said, I have come to the conclusion that things have started to change in the right direction and that the pressure put on the Bulgarian judicial system from the European Commission, the Bulgarian media and also from the U.S. pushes that process forward. The rich ones have some advantages when it comes to justice, but it would be exaggerated to say that everything is roses for them. Besides, the powerful and wealthy ones also happen to fall victims to blackmail or to ridiculous charges fabricated in an attempt to wring out money from them.

Let’s take a look at the situation in Mr. Warlick’s state of origin. Yes, the United States is a great country with significant contributions to the progress of the world. Former President Clinton is right: “There is nothing wrong in America that can’t be fixed with what is right in America.” But there are also plenty of examples showing that the American judicial system also applies a double standard, especially in the last 10 years.

How about Mark Rich? He was on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted criminals list, but that fact did not prevent Bill Clinton from granting him a parole, which basically reversed his sentence. Nepotism is not only a Bulgarian phenomenon. For instance, Clinton granted a parole to his own brother. I’m confident that there is no way this would ever happen in Bulgaria, although we need to keep in mind that the president’s brother may just not be handed down a sentence if the same scenario develops in Bulgaria. Clinton did not hesitate to sign over a parole even to William Borders, who was sentenced for an attempt to corrupt the due administration of justice in the U.S.

Football celebrity O.J. Simpson hired one of the best attorneys in the U.S. to convince the jury that he did not kill his wife. Later, another jury, which was supposed to sue him for damages, found him guilty of murder. Simpson made fun of the U.S. judiciary and had the guts to depict in detail exactly how he killed his wife and her boyfriend. Not only in Bulgaria, but also in the U.S., money and popularity open the door for a different type of justice, unreachable to the poor. So why be mad at Stavisky?

Unfortunately, even civilized Western countries have developed mechanisms to win over a judge when needed. It may be through an offer to become an honorable member of a club that otherwise requires a $100,000 membership fee. It may be through facilitating the process of accepting someone’s son or daughter into a top college or university and sponsoring his or her studies. What if the owner of a law firm or a corporation that has issues in court is a member of the board or a sponsor of the organization? Well, someone has to sponsor and guide these institutions.

The U.S. has a higher rate of murder per capita than we do. I don’t think this is a sign of security or a sign of lack of organized crime. There are many things that we can learn from this great country, the U.S., but avoiding double standards is probably not at the top of the list.

Developed countries do apply a double standard on many levels. They have a different approach toward small and vulnerable countries like Bulgaria, and toward rich and powerful ones. An ambassador to a rich and powerful country would not lobby in such a blatant way for the interest of his country’s companies. In Bulgaria, though, that is the norm. Bulgarian politicians, who feel intimidated in certain respects, prefer to remain silent on this issue. That’s why Bulgaria had to close plenty of deals that are anything but lucrative.

That’s about double standards. They are applied everywhere in the world. However, our problem with double standards in justice is way deeper, and that’s why we shouldn’t be upset when somebody puts it in our face. What we should do is work harder on that problem. We know how to do it; all we need is a strong will.

Translator’s Note: The article is written in response to the statement of James Warlick, U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria, saying that there are two judicial systems in Bulgaria — one for the people with money and power, and one for ordinary Bulgarians. He said that the biggest challenge Bulgaria faces is to establish supremacy of the law and to provide guarantees that there is no double standard when justice is applied.

* Translator’s Notes