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10.03.2023
The Declaration
approved by the
participants in the Round Table held on 20.02.2023 in Sofia, on the
occasion of 22 February - the European Day for Victims of Crime, was sent
to the interested institutions.
22.02.
2023 On 20.02.2023 in Sofia, on the occasion of 22
February - the European Day for Victims of Crime, a Round Table was held on
the topic:
"VICTIMIZATION
AND VICTIMS OF CRIME: CHALLENGES FOR THE LEGISLATOR, PRACTICE,
SOCIETY".
The Round table was organized by the
Institute for Conflict Resolution. Representatives of the Ministry of
Justice, the Ministry of Interiors, UNICEF-Bulgaria, non-governmental
organizations involved in the matters, the academia, and magistrates
actively participated. This diverse lineup provided a different perspective
on the issue, and this was greatly appreciated by those present. The
Bulgarian National Radio and the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency covered the
event well. Both the achievements of legislation and practice and the
unresolved problems identified by science and established in recent sociological
surveys were presented. A particular emphasis was put on the necessary
legal changes to better protection of the rights of victims, incl. through
restorative justice practices, improving their standing in the criminal
process and services for them, the specifics of victimization in
cybercrimes, hate crimes, human trafficking, domestic violence, sexual
harassment, as well as the need for training in Victimology and Restorative
Justice for students and the practitioners. The necessity for new approaches
in institutionalization at the national level was also discussed, for
example, by establishing a special coordinating body - the Commissioner for
Victims, which would be a unifying centre for organizations and
institutions that are fragmented in their actions. The need for more
intense international cooperation was also noted, including the formation
of a Bulgarian section of the World Society of Victimology. All agreed that
proactive actions and consolidation of efforts to support victims of
various crimes and other events are needed in accordance with European and
global standards. It was decided to create an informal network of all
interested parties with a view to future joint actions. The conclusions and
proposals from the Round Table discussion will be referred to the
Parliament, the interested institutions and organizations.
 
 
20.01.2023 On the occasion of 22 February - the
European Days for Victims of Crime,
the ICR is organizing a
Round table discussion on the theme: "VICTIMIZATION
AND VICTIMS OF CRIME: CHALLENGES FOR
THE LEGISLATOR, PRACTICE, SOCIETY".
More
details soon.
18.01.2023 Translated into Bulgarian by UNICEF
Bulgaria as a result of a need identified in the Round Table discussion
organized under the project "Encouraging the development of restorative
practices in criminal proceedings", No
BG05SFOP001-3.003-0112-C01/19.02.2021, under the Operative Programme
“Good Governance” 2014-2020, implemented by Prison Fellowship
Bulgaria - Community for Conciliatory Justice are:
Handbook on Restorative
Justice Programmes, UNODC, 2nd ed., 2020
Manual on Restorative
Justice Values and Standards
for Practice, EFRJ, 2021
26.11.2022 We celebrated
International Restorative Justice Week with students.
18.11.2022 Training of Mediators
30.09.2022
The final result is ready - a comparative study
"NON-CUSTODIAL SANCTIONS AND MEASURES IN THE
MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION" on a project in which
ICR participates.
17.06.2022 Prof.
Dr. Dobrinka Chankova
participated with a report on "Cybercrime, victimization and the role
of e-evidence for victims' protection" in the 17th Symposium of the
World Society of Victimology, June 5-9, 2022 in San Sebastian, Spain.
During the symposium was the promotion of the new journal "Global
Advances In Victimology And Psychological Studies", published by
Jindal Global University - India, which her article "Latest
European Achievements and New Challenges in Victimology and Victim
Protection. Towards victim-centered criminal justice system”.
24.08.2022 A Problem Map of Restorative
Justice in Bulgaria was
developed, under the project "Encouraging the development of
restorative practices in criminal proceedings", No
BG05SFOP001-3.003-0112-C01/19.02.2021, under the Operative Programme “Good Governance” 2014-2020,
implemented by Prison Fellowship Bulgaria - Community for conciliatory
justice and with the participation of experts from the ICR.
16.05.2022 A
conference on "Mediation in communities - between theory and
practice" was held under the project "Promoting the use of
mediation in Sofia Municipality,
Lozenets district". It was attended
by lawyer Georgi Bakalov
and Prof. Dobrinka Chankova.
03.05.2022 The
new issue 1/2022 of the magazine "Legal Tribune" was published,
dedicated to mediation in the communities, with the article of the lawyer.Georgi Bakalov
“Introduction of mediation education in secondary schools. Pros, cons
and difficulties.”
29.04.2022 A
map of the Active Mediation Centers was published under the Project
"Promoting the Use of Mediation in the Sofia Municipality, Lozenets District".
22.02.2022 European
Day for Victims of Crime
24.01.2022 The opening
press conference on the project "ENCOURAGING THE USE OF MEDIATION IN LOZENETS
DISTRICT, THE MUNICIPALITY OF SOFIA, WITH THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE, NEIGHBORHOOD DISPUTES AND COMMUNITY CLIMATE IMPROVEMENT " was
held.
20.12.2021 Prof.
Dr Dobrinka Chankova took part in the International conference
“Constitution-Making and Democracy in Troubled Times” in Thessaloniki, Greece, and accomplished a STSM in the frames of COST CA 17135 “Constitution-making and Deliberative Democracy” Project.
17.11.2021 International
Restorative Justice Week, November 21-28, 2021. Crime victim on focus!
24.09.2021 IV National
Conference on Restorative Justice "Legitimacy of restorative thinking
in Bulgaria - transformation of communities, institutions,
organizations" - online, November 19-21, 2021. More information at https://restorativejusticebg.com
27.05.2021 A new
project "Promoting the
development of restorative justice practices in criminal proceedings" with
the participation of experts from the ICR is launched.
22.02.2021 European
Day for Victims of Crime
4-5.02.2021 An online workshop
"Protecting the rights of victims of anti-LGBTI hate crimes:
innovative methods through restorative justice" was held, organized by
the international consortium LetsGoByTalking,
with the active participation of ICR members. The Handbook on the potential of restorative justice in hate
crimes was presented.
8.12.2020 ZOOM party on the occasion of
the 20- anniversary of the
EFRJ. A memorable Jubilee Magazine was published with an article by
Prof. D. Chankova in.
 
15-22.11.2020 International RJ week
www.euforumrj.org
5.10.2020. With a decision of
18.09.2020 of the Management Board of the Foundation "Training Center
for Lawyers "Krastyu Tsonchev"
Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova was awarded the Jubilee Medal "15 years
Foundation "Training Center for Lawyers "Krastyu
Tsonchev" for her contribution as a lecturer
for raising the qualification of Bulgarian lawyers and for establishing
high professional and ethical standards in the lawyer's profession.
 
11.09.2020 Prof. D. Chankova
will present a paper (in co-authorship)
"LEADERSHIP AND DELIBERATIVE DEMOCRACY IN THE CHANGING WORLD: COMPATIBLE OR RECONCILABLE PARADIGMS?" at a conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
11.08. 2020 A Book of the Mediator was published as a result of the project
"Increasing the capacity of
training organizations trough development of Standards for Mediators
training".
https://partnersbg.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Kniga_na_Mediatora_web.pdf
2-5.06. 2020 Conference "Restorative Justice
- now and here"
https://restorativejusticebg.com/2020/05/30/19/
 
4.06. 2020 Workshop "Profession
MEDIATOR"
 
22.05.2020 Online presentation of the UNODC
Handbook of Restorative Justice Programmes, 2020
13.04.2020.Irene
Sagel-Grande, PhD, the Institute of Conflict Resolution's partner in some projects, has
published a book - "Urban Living at the Beginning of the 21st Century
in Amsterdam, Hamburg and Vienna", Antwerpen-Apeldorn:
Maklu, 2020, the result of the European project
"Insecurities in European Cities ". In it, she expertly and
accurately analyzes the problems of crime, prevention, victimization and
quality of life in big cities, with a vision for the future.
Congratulations, Irene!
 
10.04.2020.The new book by our
colleague and friend Daniela Bolivar,PhD in Criminological sciences, from Chile Restoring Harm: A Psychosocial Approach
to Victims and Restorative Justice (Routledge Frontiers of Criminal
Justice), 2019, presents an extremely interesting look at Restorative
Justice.
17.03.2020. TV interview of attorney-at-law Georgi Bakalov - Deputy ICR director and National Association
of Mediation chairman for Mediation in
a State of Emergency.
https://www.tvevropa.com/2020/03/mediatsiyata-v-usloviyata-na-zatvoreni-sadilishta/?fbclid=IwAR1_CW1vneTgCCXlNMFjCpWyaFnXZNUz5lwTBxlGDMw4ZC0OSpKnt3RplfU
14.03.2020 The Institute for Conflict
Resolution received a letter of thanks from the Municipality of Vratsa for
the successful joint work in the training of mediators and the promotion of
mediation in the region.
22.02.2020 The Institute of Conflict Resolution marked the European
Day for Victims of Crime, focused on hate crime victims.
20.02.2020 The Institute of Conflict
Resolution participated in the Mediation Information Day in Vratsa.
Emphasis was placed on mediation in schools. The certificates of the recently
trained mediators were handed over.
  
  
01.02.2020 Forthcoming 17th
International Symposium of the
World Society of Victimology- 6-10 June 2021, San Sebastian, Spain.
More info: http://www.worldsocietyofvictimology.org/symposium2021/
6.12.2019 The book "The Praxis of Justice" Liber Amicorum
Ivo Aertsen - one of the doyens of Restorative Justice in Europe- has been published.
More than 30 researchers
from the whole world, Prof. D. Chankova included, shared their impressions from the common work with this exceptional colleague and friend.
21.09.2019 Forthcoming conference of the European Forum of Restorative Justice.
More for the conference here.
31.05-01.06.2019 A
conference on "Geography of Restorative Justice" was held in
Sofia on the initiative and with the active participation of
representatives of ICR.
26.01.2019 Forthcoming RJ
Symposium.
http://www.euforumrj.org/uncategorized/call-proposals-symposium-bilbao-2019/
18-25.11.2018 The International Restorative Justice Week 2018 was celebrated with many events. Most significant from them:
Screening of the EFRJ movie "Еxpanding
Restorative
Imagination"
with students from South-West University- Blagoevgrad.
 
 
Round table discusssion in Sofia for policy-marers and practitionners about the new Council of Europe Recommendation abour Restorative Justice in criminal matters.
 
 
27.09.2018. As a follow up activity of the conference "Re-thinking Crime and Punishment" held in April 2018, in Sofia District Court was presented the movie
"A Conversation", produced by the European Forum of Restorative Justice.
16.06.2018 In
the period 10-14 June 2018 Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova took part in the 16th International Symposium
of the World Society of Victimology on "Victims and Victimization:
Towards International Victimology", which took place in the Special
Administrative Region, Hong Kong.The Symposium is
organized by the World Society of Victimology along with City University -
Hong Kong. This is one of the most important forums in the matter, subject
to teaching and research, as well as important for justice. It is held every three
years and gathers leading scientists from all over the world. More than 260
scientists and practitioners from over 40 countries participated in this
forum. It went on a high level, providing extremely innovative information
and documentation.
A
joint paper on "Electronic
evidence - an instrument in favor
of victims of online crime" was presented and was welcomed very
well. An online publication will be prepared. Prof. Chankova delivered a lecture at 16th Asian
postgraduate course on Victimology.
 
30.
05.2018 Annual Financial Report of ICR for 2017. / 1,
2,
3
/
27-28.04.2018 At the University Center in Bachinovo,
Blagoevgrad, was held a
National Conference entitled "Modern Mediation - Achievements,
Challenges and Perspectives in Bulgaria", hosted by the South-West University "N. Rilski" - co-organizer jointly with the Supreme Bar Council, the
Association "Lawyers for Legal Culture and European
Cooperation"-Blagoevgrad, the National Association of Mediators,
the Institute of Conflict
Resolution and other interested organizations and institutions.
The conference was attended by the Minister of Justice Tsetska Tsacheva, the
Chairperson of the Supreme Bar Council Ralitza Negentzova, representatives of the Supreme
Administrative Court, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, mediators,
representatives of the academic sector, non-governmental organizations,
students and others.
A guest was Mrs. Maria Oliveira - Council of Europe expert on
mediation issues.
The conference discussed the current state of
mediation in Bulgaria and the possibilities for legislative changes in
order to improve the functioning of the judiciary through its wider
application. The prospects for the development of the criminal process in
Bulgaria were also presented in order to emphasize the needs of the victims
of crime by applying the methods of restorative justice. Experiences and
solutions in leading European
countries have been explored. The outcome of the conference is a final
document, which will be sent to all the institutions involved in its
development.
  
21.04 2018. A conference "Re-thinking Crime and Punishment" was held
in Sofia. The main focus was the problem of restorative justice, to which
ICR representatives have been involved for a long time.The
conference discussed the state of play of Restorative Justice practices in
Bulgaria.
In addition to participants from interested
organizations from Bulgaria, the Skype conference brought together
well-known European experts on restorative justice - Dr
Borbala Fellegi -
Foresee Research Group, Hungary and Belinda Hopkins - Transforming
Conflicts, UK.
The participants united around the following
main issues and measures for the development of restorative justice in
Bulgaria:
- Undertaking joint actions and joint advocacy
campaigns to develop modern national regulatory legislation
- Amendment to the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal
Procedure with a view to introducing mediation in criminal cases
- Speedy adoption of the Children's Justice Act
which regulates restorative justice practices
- Amendment to the Penal Execution and
Detention Act with a view to applying restorative approaches
- Creation of a National Platform for
Restorative Justice to promote and develop the Restorative Justice
philosophy
- Working with the academic community and
integrating restorative justice into university programs.
A final document was adopted in that spirit,
which will be sent to all relevant institutions.
  
18.03.2018 National Mediation “Re-thinking
Crime and Punishment”. For details see here!
04.02. 2018 National Mediation Conference with the Institute of Conflict Resolutions involvement. For details see here!
24.11. 2017 Mr. George Bakalov-
Deputy-Chair of theInstitute of Conflict
Resolution, made a presentation during the conference: Children’s
rights. Children-participants in legal procedures, Sofia.
21-22.11.2017 Traditionally, ICR jointly
with South-West University “N. Rilski”,
celebrate International Restorative Justice Week. This year the following
events were launched.
1. Information campaign with the title
“RESTORATIVE JUSTICE –AN INSTRUMENT FOR IMPROVED PROTECTION OF
CRIME VICTIMS” was organized at South-West University –
Blagoevgrad and District and Regional Courts and Bar-Association - Blagoevgrad.
Informative materials were distributed.A short
animated movie about RJ benefits was shown.
2. FILM SCREENING
of “A Conversation” movie took place at Law Faculty. More than
30 students attended the event followed by live discussion. The screening
is a part of the EFRJ campaign.
3. A large scale
public discussion with participation of Prof. and Mr. George Bakalov about mediation and restorative justice was
organized at District Court - Blagoevgrad. More than 50 magistrates,
lawyers, representatives of the public institutions and students expressed
their positive attitude and readiness for action in favor of mediation and
restorative justice.
   
 ![Capture66_struma.bg_[1]](News_files/image122.jpg) ![Capture67_struma.bg_-765x510[1]](News_files/image124.jpg) ![Capture69_struma.bg_[1]](News_files/image126.jpg)
15.11.2017 On the occasion of the Days of mediation organized by the Regional
and District Court Blagoevgrad and Bar Association- Blagoevgrad, by special
invitation students from Law and History Faculty, studied Alternative
Dispute Resolution discipline, presented a simulation of mediation on
family dispute, with elements of commercial dispute.
The demonstration in front of the specialized audience, citizens and pupils
passed very successfully and the students were admired for their excellent
knowledge and professional skills.
 
23-31.10. 2017 On 27 and 28 October 2017, in O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, NCR of Delhi, India, the 6th
International Conference on Victim Assistancewasheld,
with the main theme “Evolving Perspectives in Victimology”. The
forum was organized by the Jindal Institute of Behavioral Sciences and the
Center for Victimology and Psychological Studies and was also recognized by
the World Society of Victimology whose many representatives tookpart in the event. From the Bulgarian side Prof. DobrinkaChankova, PhD participated in the prestigious
forum. She presented a paper on “Victims of crime in Bulgaria -
between EU law and the daily challenges to the institutions and
organizations involved”, which was received very well and will be
published. She chaired a scientific session on “Direct and indirect
victimization in the family.
During the period October 22 - November 4,
2017, the same university organized the 15th Asian Post Graduate Course on
Victimology, Victim Assistance and Criminal Justice, in which Prof. Chankova delivered a lecture entitled
“Restorative Justice – an Improved Instrument in Support of
Victims”, received exceptionally well by the knowledgeable students.
For her participation in the conference and course, Prof. Chankova was awarded honorary plaques for contributions
to the victimology and Certificates of Appreciation.
  
18.08.2017 Two books were published in the summer, with separate chapters written
by Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova.
The first is "Global Victimology: New Voices. Theory-Facts-Legislation
", edited by Kirchoff, G., Palit, M. and Sahni, S.,
published by LexisNexis in India. It contains the study of Prof. Chankova "New Restorative Justice Instruments
Towards Youth Crime in Norway", which was the result of a project.
The
second book is "Europe in Crisis: Crime, Criminal Justice and the Way
Forward", edited by Spinelis, C., Theodorakis, N., Billis, E.
and Papadimitrakopoulos, G., published in Greece
by Ant. N. Sakkulos Publishers L.P. It
includes an analysis of the
author, entitled "Hard Times for Restorative Justice in
Bulgaria", for which she was explicitly invited.
 
17.06.2017 The last training of new mediators was
successful !
  
29.04.2017 The article “Restorative Justice –
an instrument for improved protection of crime victims” by Chankova, D., Anzova, D., Klecherova, M., Mladenova, I. was published in South African journal
JUST AFRICA. All Africa Journal of Criminal Justice. See the
issue.
23.02.2017 Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova took part in the Expert seminar for training of professionals on the Victims’ Directive, held in Brussels.
22.02.2017 The International Crime Victims Day was
marked with students from Law and History Faculty, South-West University of Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria.
  
30.01.2017 European Forum of Restorative Justice Summer School, Como, Italy, 24-28/07/2017
http://www.euforumrj.org/events/efrj-summer-school-2017/
23.11.2016 The
International Restorative Justice Week was celebrated with students.
26.08.
2016 The paper “Security and Human
Rights: Contradictory or Reconcilable Paradigms? State of Affairs in
Bulgaria”, by Prof. D. Chankova and G. Georgieva, PhD, presented during KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION International Conference, organized
by Nicolae
Balcesku Land Force Academy – Sibiu,
Romania, 9-11 June 2016 , was published in Conference Proceedings No 2, De Gguyter Open,Vol. XXII, Nicolae Balcesku
Land Force Academy Publishing
House, 2016
07.07.2016 The Proceedings of the
International Scientific Conference: ”UN: Historical Traditions and Contemporary Law”, 2-3 October 2015 were
published by University Press
“N. Rilski”, with Prof Chankova’s article “Towards Enhanced Protection of Crime
Victims”.
25.05.2016 Prof. D. Chankova
took part in the training “EU Gender Equality Law”, organized by the Academy of European Law, Trier,
Germany
20.05.2016 New article in the global database for referencing and
indexing of scientific journals Elsevier's Scopus
20.04.2016
Students from Law and History Faculty, South-West University “N. Rilski”, studying Alternative Dispute Resolution, developed 3-D informative panel about mediation !
22.02.2016
The International Day
for Victims of Crime Support and the start of the European Year for
Combating Violence Against Women were celebrated.
  
22.11.2015 Prof. Dr
Dobrinka
Chankova took part in the International conference “Justice and Security in Intercultural Europe: Exploring Alternatives”, held in Leuven, Belgium, on 16-18 November 2015.
The International Restorative Justice
Week 15-22 November was celebrated with future mediators.
19.09.2015
Оn 6th October 2015 in Sofia a
conference entitled
"Hungarian and Norwegian experience for application of non-custodial sanctions - new horizons facing criminal justice"
in the framework of the project "New European Standards for
Application of Alternatives to
Imprisonment" in which the Institute of Conflict Resolution is a partner, will be held.
See the programme.
15.08.2015
A new article of Prof. Dr. D. Chankova has been published: "Combating
Trafficking in Human Beings in
Bulgaria: Achievements, Problems, Perspectives", in : Tollefson, T. (ed.) Victimological Advances in Theory, Policy and
Services. A festschrift in
honor of John Peter
Joseph Dussich, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus,
California State University, Fresno, Dumont Printing: Fresno, 2015
10.06.
2015 In Contemporary Law Journal 1/2015 was
published a very positive review by Prof. Dr. Sc. Margarita Chinova of
the book: Dunkel, F., Grzywa-Holten,
J. and Horsfield, P. (Eds.) (2015) Restorative
Justice and Mediation in Penal Matters: A stock-taking of legal issues,
implementation strategies and outcomes in 36 European countries, Monchengladbach:Vorum
Verlag Godesberg, vol.
1-2
28.04.
2015 Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova and the coordinator of the project "New European Standards
for Application of Alternatives to Imprisonment" have given a launching press-conference in BTA-Sofia.
![10606572_1091652247518733_784367026329395570_n[1]](News_files/image173.jpg)
12.03.2015 Starting from today, the Association "Bulgarian-Romanian
Trans-border Mediation
Institute" starts the
implementation of the project "New European Standards for
Application of Alternatives to
Imprisonment",
funded according to contract №
93-00-133/12.03.2015, Small
Grants Scheme of the Programme
BG15 "Correction services including without detention measures"
under the Norwegian
Financial Mechanism 2009-2014.
The Institute of Conflict Resolution is a partner. The total amount of the project is 113 237,50
BGN, from which 101 913,75 BGN is the gratuitous aid from the Programme Operator, and 11 323,75 BGN is the contribution of the Beneficiary. The project will be accomplished in 12 months.
24.02.2015 A new publication with Prof Dr. Dobrinka Chankova's
chapter:
Dunkel, F., Grzywa-Holten,
J. and Horsfield, P. (Eds.) (2015) Restorative Justice
and Mediation in Penal Matters: A stock-taking of legal issues,
implementation strategies and outcomes in 36 European countries, Monchengladbach:Vorum
Verlag Godesberg, vol.
1-2
The
book is a result of the project funded by the Criminal Justice Programme
of the European Union.
19-20.11.2014 Prof. D. Chankova took part in the final RJE conference
which was held at the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in London. Prof. Chankova
presented the final report regarding RJE project in Bulgaria.
She attended the launch of RJE book: Gavrielides,
T. (ed.) A victim-led criminal justice system: Addressing the
paradox , London, 2014, in which she has a
chapter "More justice for
crime victims in Bulgaria".
16.11.
2014 Celebration of the International Day of Tolerance.
 
 
31.10.2014 Prof.
Chankova reviewed the book of David Cornwell,
John Blad and Martin Wright (eds.) (2013).Civilising
Criminal Justice. An International Restorative Agenda for Penal Reform SherfieldGables: WatersidePress.
The review was published In Internet Journal of
Restorative Justice, October 2014, http://www.rj4all.info/content/IJRJcontents
4.10.2014 During the period 15.09.- 02.10. 2014 Prof. D. Chankova
delivered course of lectures on Restorative Justice in Karaganda State University “Acad. E. Buketov”-
Kazakhstan.
 
30.09.2014 3rd
IARS
International Annual Conference 2014: A Victim-led Criminal Justice System? will be taking place during the International Restorative Justice Week
2014, on 19th-20th
November in London.This unique event will bring
together national and international researchers, policy makers, academics,
restorative justice and criminal justice professionals as well as victims
and offenders to debate issues surrounding
the Victims' Directive, victims' rights, a victim-led criminal justice
system andrestorative justice. Findings will be
also presented from the IARS
2- year programme Restorative Justice in Europe:
Safeguarding Victims & Empowering Professionals. Cutting
edge research on criminal justice, restorative justice and victims’
rights will also be presented in 18 workshops delivered by international
experts.
More
info:
IARS Conference 19-20 November.pdf
6.09.2014 Prof. D. Chankova has participated in the Final Justice Cooperation
Network Conference “Re-integration of High Risk Offenders”, 3-5 September 2014, Rostock-Warnemunde, Germany, with a poster presentation “RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND HIGH-RISK
OFFENDERS: CONTRADICTIOUS OR
RECONCILABLE CATEGORIES?”
and promoted RJE
Project.
08.07.2014
See the following
e-training courses, developed in the frameworks of the project: “Restorative Justice
in Europe: Safeguarding Victims and Empowering Professionals”.
http://rj4all.info/content/RJE-etraining
http://rj4all.info/content/victimscourse
19.06.2014 The Faculty of Law and History at South-West University “N. Rilski” hosted training on protection of crime victims’ rights and restorative justice. The training was organized in the frames of the international project under EU “Criminal Justice” Programme, entitled “Restorative Justice in
Europe: Safeguarding Victims and Empowering Professionals” and
carried out by scientists from academic institutions from the UK, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Germany and Greece. From Bulgarian side the
participant is Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova.
During the project whose main objective is creation of conditions for implementation of the Directive
2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012
establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of
victims of crime, work packages for victims and professionals have been elaborated. They have been piloted
during the training. Guest-lecturers were Ben Lyon and Grace Loseby
from Independent Academic
Research Studies-London -
project coordinator.
The training was very successful and was positively evaluated by the participants who received certificates.
Similar
training was organized on 16.06. 2014 in Sofia Bar Association with active
involvement of the ICR members.
 
 
10.06.2014 During the conference “Children in conflict with law. Reform of child justice system in compliance with the international standards and the best interest of the child” Prof Dr Dobrinka Chankova spoke
about restorative justice potential. The conference took place in Sofia and was organized by UNICEF jointly with the National Assembly and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria.
06.06.2014 During the round table discussion “Forming of long-term policies for improving crime victims
standing”, organized
by the Center for Study of Democracy in Sofia, Prof Dr D. Chankova made a presentation “Restorative
justice-new instrument for protection of victim’s rights” and distributed information about RJE Project.
28.04.2014 The book „Youth at Risk. Art, Creativity and Integration”, in which are the findings of АRS Project, with ICR members involvement, was published. Ralitsa Voynova
and George Bakalov have an article there!
27.04.2014 Two articles of Prof. Chankova were
published in Greece in the frameworks of “The 3E Model for a Restorative Justice
Strategy in Europe”:
“Restorative
Justice in Bulgaria”, In: Pitsela, A. and Symeonidou-Kastanidou
(Eds.) Restorative Justice in Criminal Matters: Towards a New European
Perspective. Comparative Research in 11 Countries, Sakkloulas
Publications: Athens -Thessaloniki, 2013, p. 23-43, and
“Who
is Afraid of Restorative Justice?” In: Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Pitsela, A. and Symeonidou-Kastanidou
(Eds.) Restorative Justice in Criminal Matters: Towards a New European
Perspective. International Conference, 16-17 May 2013, Thessaloniki,
Greece, Sakkloulas Publications:
Athens-Thessaloniki, 2013, p.277-280
11.04. 2014 A scientific session “Right to nondiscrimination - private law and public law aspects” was held at Law and History Faculty at South-West University-Blagoevgrad. Prof.
D. Chankova
made a presentation entitled
“Pro or contra victim’s positive discrimination?”
07.04.2014 Prof. Chankova’s article “Restorative Justice - a
Revival of Customary Law in Support
of Crime Victims”, presented as a paper at a conference, was published in Bobchev’s Readings: Law Science
in Honour of Prof. Stefan Bobchev, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, 2014
25.01.2014 The first results from the project“Restorative
Justice in Europe: Safeguarding
Victims & Empowering
Professionals” -2012-2014 have been revealed. See:
http://rj4all.info/content/iars-press-release-new-research-victims-restorative-justice-uk-and-europe
10.12.2013 At the official opening of Mediation centre at
Blagoevgrad Prof. Dr D. Chankova spoke about
RJ and the new EU Victims Directive.
21.11.2013 The International RJ week was celebrated with students from Law and History Faculty at SWU “N. Rilski”.
   
17.11.2013 During the training of new mediators the International RJ
week was celebrated.
06.11.2013 During the
scientific session “Trends and Perspectives of Public Administration in
Bulgaria” held at Law and History Faculty at SWU “N. Rilski”
information about Directive 2012/29/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council for establishing minimum standards on the rights, support
and protection of victims of crime was disseminated.
31.10.2013 Meetings with university professors and other researchers and practitioners about how to include Restorative Justice and new Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the
Council for establishing
minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime in the education and information campaigns have been organized.
18.10. 2013
During the celebration of the European Day against Human
Trafficking, held at
South-West University-
Blagoevgrad, information about new Directive 2012/29/EU of the
European Parliament and of the Council for establishing minimum standards on the rights, support
and protection of victims of crime was distributed.
17.10. 2013 During
the Annual Conference of the
Law Faculty of the
University of National and World Economy – Sofia, Prof.
Dr. Dobrinka
Chankova made a presentation entitled “Restorative Justice - a
Revival of Customary Law in Support
of Crime Victims”.
18.09.2013 Prof. Dr. D. Chankova took part in the International Summer School for PhD Students “The European Union
and the Black Sea Region: Challenges and Prospects” held in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, from 17 till 19 September 2013. She delivered a lecture entitled “Restorative Justice
– the New
Perspective of Criminal
Justice in Europe”.
01.07.2013 The article of Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova “The New European Standards for Rights, Support and Protection of Crime Victims” has been published in law journal “Society and
Law”, 2013, N 4.
27.05. 2013 From 9 till 12 May 2013 in Gdansk,
Poland, Prof. Dr. D. Chankova took
part in the final conference of the project “Restorative justice
and mediation in penal matters in Europe”, coordinated by the University of Greifswald, Germany, and sponsored by Criminal Justice Program of the EU. Scholars from 37 states- members and associate members of the EU, took part in the project.
22.02.2013 European
Day for Victims of Crime!
01.12.2012 The Institute of Conflict Resolution is a partner in a new project titled “Restorative
Justice in Europe: Safeguarding Victims & Empowering
Professionals”, funded by the Criminal Justice Programme of the EU. The coordinator of the project is Independent Academic Research Studies (IARS)- a leading UK-based international think-tanks with
expertise in community-led solutions to crime, such as restorative justice, and
the partners are also: the University of Applied
Sciences for Public Administration Bremen (Germany), Restorative Thinking
(UK), Restorative Justice Netherlands (the Netherlands), the European
Public Law Organisation (Greece) and Innokut (Hungary). Associate Partners from the USA,
UK,
Cyprus etc. are involved as well. The project duration is 2 years.
See press - release.
http://www.iars.org.uk/content/RJEPR1
21.11. 2012
Students from South-West
University “N. Rilski”, by
initiative of Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova,
participated in the
world campaign for marking RJ week- 18-25 November
2012.
  
3.11.2012 The Institute
of Conflict Resolution members took part in the International conference
“European Network for Mediation” held in Sofia on 1-2 November 2012.
A friendly
meeting with the honorary member of the ICR Dr Martin Wright followed.
  
31.08.2012 On a working visit in Sofia
were the Spanish partners of the Institute
of Conflict Resolution in the frameworks
of ARS Project.
4.06.2012 From 20 till 24 May 2012 Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova took part
in the 14th World Society of Victimology International Symposium, The Hague, the Netherlands
30.03.2012 Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova -
Chair of the ICR and Mr. George
Bakalov – Vice-Chair took part in a conference for promotion of mediation in Yambol, Bulgaria.
26.02.2012 The
training of mediators with the Institute of Conflict Resolution’s trainers ended successfully.
1.12.2011 The Honorary
member of the Institute of Conflict Resolution Dr Martin Wright, Silviya Milusheva
and Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova took part on 25 November 2011 in London in the workshop “Perspectives of Restorative Justice”
in the frameworks of “Prisons Week - 20-26
November 2011”.
20.11.2011 The Institute of
Conflict Resolution took part
in the
International campaign “Restorative
Justice week-13-20 November 2011” through lectures before newly trained mediators and students from South-West University- Blagoevgrad.
 
06.11.2011 On 31
October 2011 Prof. Dr D. Chankova
took part in the first working meeting in the frameworks of the project „The 3E Model for a
Restorative Justice Strategy in Europe” in Thessaloniki, Greece.
28.08.2011 From
22nd till 28th
August 2011 in Sofia the Institute
of Conflict Resolution trained new mediators.
30.07.2011 A
new transnational
project entitled
“The 3E Model for a Restorative Justice Strategy in Europe”
with the Institute
of Conflict Resolution involvement has been launched. The coordinator of the project is the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and the partners are research institutions and scholars from the United Kingdom, Finland,
Hungary, Poland, Spain, Turkey, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.
20.07.2011 The new book of Prof. Dr Dobrinka Chankova - Chair
of the ICR entitled
“Restorative Justice. A
Comparative Analysis” has been published.
08.06.2011 From 27th May till 6th June 2011 in
the city of Burgas the Institute of Conflict Resolution trained new mediators.
20.05.2011 A
workshop entitled
“Mediation” was held in Sofia
on 18-19 May 2011. It was organized by the Ministry of Justice and the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ). Members
and volunteers of the Institute of Conflict Resolution took part in the workshop.
 
14.03.2011 ICR
members will participate in the mediators’ training, organized by the Union of Bulgarian Lawyers
–
1-10 April 2011
21.01. 2011 The National Association of Mediators initiates a conference entitled “Mediation and the problems of court and out-of-court settlement” in May 2011 in Sofia.
05.12.2010 On
December 2nd and 3rd 2010 in Paris the 12th National Conference with international participation of the Association “Citoyens et Justice”, entitled “Restorative Justice: from
ideal to reality?” took
place. The results of the multinational project
“Action-Research about availability of the VOM or how to implement the VOM at the post sentence stage”, with
involvement of the organizations from France, Bulgaria, Spain and Italy, have been presented.
 
The Bulgarian delegation to the conference
8.10.2010 New publication: Dussich, J. and Schellenberg, J. (eds.) The Promise of Restorative Justice. New Approaches for Criminal Justice and Beyond, Boulder/London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2010
The chapter ”Mediation: The Case of
Bulgaria” by Assoc. Prof.
D. Chankova
is included.
7.06.2010 Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova
took part in the XXVI Postgraduate course “Victimology, Victim
Assistance and Criminal Justice“ 10-22 May 2010
at Inter-university Centre- Dubrovnik, Croatia, and delivered a lecture on Recent Developments of Restorative Justice in Eastern Europe.
28.03.2010 Assoc.
Prof. Dobrinka Chankova
took part in the International conference “Restorative justice and Crime prevention: actors, places and policies”, held in Naples, Italy, on 25-26 March 2010.
26.02.2010 A Working group of National Association of Mediators is developing amendments to the Mediation Act. To be continued.
05.01.2010 See
the paper, presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Chankova on Recent Developments in Policies
Related to Crime Victims in Bulgaria,
during the 13th International Symposium on Victimology, Mito, Japan, 23-28 August 2009
4.11.2009 Prof. Dobrinka Chankova took
part in the Transnational Forum “Good Practices in Restorative Juvenile Justice”, Santiago de Compostela,
Spain, 2-3 November 2009
2.10.2009 A working meeting with Spanish coordinators of the new project with ICR involvment
entitled “
Restorative Juvenile Justice in the framework of the European Union” was held in Sofia.
23.06.2009 The new Family Code, regularizing mediation in family matters, was promulgated
in
State Gazette N 47/ 23 June 2009.
16.05.2009 The project “The School - a Territory of Tolerance” ended successfully with 3 publications.
02.04.2009 The ICR Director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova had a meeting in Tokyo, Japan, with the Representative Director of
Japan Mediation Center Ms Keiko Tanaka and the Director of the Executive Office Mr. Nobuaki Andoh.
During the meeting different issues of common interest have been discussed.
01.04.2009 The National Association of Mediators organizes a conference “Mediation in Administrative Proceedings” to be held on 3 April 2009 in Sofia.
23.03.2009 The ICR Director Assoc.
Prof. Dr. Dobrinka Chankova took part in the International Symposium “ Globalized Penal Populism and its Countermeasures” held on 21 March 2009 in Kyoto, Japan.
07.03.2009 The Institute of Conflict Resolution is listed on WiserEarth.org,
the largest free and editable
directory of environmental
and social
justice organizations in the world. Over 550,000 people --
representing 3.7 million page views -- visit the site each year.
See
the Institute’s profile:
http://www.wiserearth.org/organization/view/d5b7c8a2117c41cc516933ad84acd7ce
17.12.2008 The
National Association of Mediators
adopted an Action plan for mediation in administrative disputes.
More details soon.
27.10.2008 From 24th till 26th
October 2008 in the town of Pazardjik the first module of training of school staff on violence prevention in schools was held. The training is a part of the project “ The school - a territory of tolerance” implemented by the “Public Fund” Foundation- Pazardjik
with the active involvement of experts from the Institute of Conflict Resolution. The VISTA
methodology was applied.
23.10.2008 Assoc. Prof. Dr
Dobrinka Chankova-
chair of the ICR- took part in the first meeting of the Management Committee of the project “Cyberbullying: coping with negative and enhancing
positive uses of new technologies, in relationships in educational
settings” in the
framework of COST Programme of the EU. The meeting was held in Brussels and started 4-year project for exchange of information and good practices of coping with Cyberbullying.
19.10.2008. The last training of
mediators ended with great success.
01.10. 2008 On the 25
and 26 of September 2008 in the town of Bourgas
the “Days of
Mediation” took place.
The purpose of the initiative was to
promote this new extremely efficient method for alternative dispute
resolution. In the schedule of
the forum
Bulgarian-German conference, professional meetings and discussions, information campaign and promotional
mediation services were included.
The “Days of Mediation” in Bourgas were organized by the National Association of
Mediators in collaboration with
the Institute for Conflict Resolution, the German Foundation for
International Legal Cooperation, the Union of the Jurists in Bulgaria –
the section of Bourgas, the Regional Advisory
Centre for Mediation – Bourgas, with the
kind cooperation of Municipality of Bourgas, and were a part of the campaign for the
implementation of mediation in compliance with the instruments of the European Union, the Council
of Europe and the UN.
During the “Days of Mediation” in Bourgas representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the
Judiciary, the Bar Association, non-governmental organizations, practicing
mediators, scientists from all over the country and abroad took part. The
participants were cordially welcome by the Mayor of Bourgas
Mr.Dimitar Nikolov, the
regional governor Mr. Lyubomir Panteleev, the MP
of the European Parliament Mrs. Rumyana Jeleva and Mr. Valery
Parvanov – Vice-General Prosecutor. A
special guest to the forum was Associate Professor Dr
Gabriela Belova – Vice-Dean of the Faculty
of Law and History of SWU
“N. Rilski” – one of the first
faculties in the country that had introduced the study of the discipline
Alternative Dispute Resolution. Associate Professor Belova
encouraged further efforts for the implementation of mediation. Mr. Yossif Geron –
President of NAM – made an extensive review of the actual state of
affairs of mediation in Bulgaria.
Associate Professor Dr Dobrinka
Chankova – Chair of the ICR and Vice - President of the National
Association of Mediators, introduced the concept and the draft law for introduction of mediation in criminal matters,
developed by a working group
affiliated to the NAM,
and submitted to the Ministry of Justice. There were also held other specialized
reports. A movie on mediation
skills was presented. The centers for mediation in the country informed
the participants about their activities. Mr. George Bakalov-
Vice-Chair of the ICR - informed all those
present about the various activities of the Institute. The German legal
regulation and good practices of mediation in criminal matters were
presented by Mr. Gerd Delattre
– Leader of TOA – Servicebureau, Cologne, Germany
and Mrs.Astrid Achtenberg, Legal Assistance for
Youngsters, Miesbach,
Germany.
During the forum the first honorary badges of the
National Association of Mediators were handed. Badges have been awarded to: Prof. Dr.Margarita Chinova, a
honorary fellow of the ICR, for her contribution to the
implementation of mediation in Bulgaria; Mr. Zhivko
Panayotov – Director of the Regional
Advisory Centre for Mediation – Bourgas and
a member of the ICR – for his active mediator’s work and his
efforts for the development of mediation in the region of Bourgas, and to the German Foundation for International
Legal Cooperation – for their support for promotion of mediation in
Bulgaria.
The event was well attended and largely covered by the local and central televisions,
Internet and the local and
central press.
See our Photo gallery
22.09.2008 A
special issue of Legal Tribune Journal (N 1, 2008)
with the proceedings of the Workshop and Round table discussion on Mediation in Penal Matters (December 2007) was
published.
2.06. 2008 DIRECTIVE 2008/52/EC OF THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 21 May 2008 on certain aspects of
mediation in civil and commercial matters
has been published in
the Official Journal of
the European Union. See the full text.
27.05.2008 The findings of the ICR survey about the applicability of VOM according to the victims were published in Society and Law Journal, 2008, vol.5.
25.05.2008 The latest Mediators
training was a great
success.
22.05.2008 Bulgarian-German Mediation Conference was held in Sofia on 20-21 May 2008. /See details
in Conferences section/
22.04. 2008 At the General Meeting of the National Association of Mediators George Bakalov
- deputy chair of the ICR was elected a member of the Ethical Commission, and Dobrinka Chankova
- a deputy chair of the NAM.
17-19. 04. 2008 The Fifth European Forum for Restorative
Justice Conference “Building Restorative Justice in Europe” took place in Verona, Italy. Dobrinka Chankova
participated with a paper “Teaching Restorative Justice in the Universities and Beyond”.
16.04. 2008 The ICR Chair Assoc. Prof. Dr
Dobrinka Chankova has
been awarded the Badge of Honor of the Union of Bulgarian Jurists for high professional achievements.
5.03.2008 The first transnational meeting of TIN project was held in Sofia on 3rd and 4th March 2008. /See details in
Projects section/
11.02.2008 Mediators training, organized in collaboration with The Union of Bulgarian Jurists, was a great success.
1.02.2008 In February issue 2008 of Legal World journal information about the outcomes of the Workshop and the
Round table discussion on
perspectives of mediation in
penal matters, held in Sofia on 13-14 December 2007, was published.
See the full text of the article. 1
& 2
7.01. 2008 In Law and
Society Journal, No 10 2007,
the findings of ICR survey on the applicability of mediation in penal matters according to the offenders were published.
25.12.2007 See the review of Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Chankova
“New Restorative Justice Models in Europe:
Results of a Survey”,
conducted in the frameworks of COST Action A21.
20.12.2007 The
Workshop and the Round table discussion on perspectives
of mediation in penal matters held in Sofia on 13-14 December 2007 were a great success! /See details in
Conferences section/
25.11.2007
Workshop and Round table
discussion on perspectives of
mediation in penal
matters, Sofia, 13-14 December
2007
The events are being organized by the National Association of Mediators, jointly with TAIEX Office of the European Commission, the Union of Bulgarian Jurists and
the Institute of Conflict
Resolution and are a part of the campaign for restorative justice
and victim-offender mediation
promotion.
See the Agenda
22.11.
2007
The Institute of Conflict Resolution celebrated the International Restorative Justice Week (18-25
November) with a lecture in the Institute
of Postgraduate studies - Sofia.
5.11.2007
Announcement for Training
of Mediators
For more details call +359 2 9758032 or
send e-mail to icr@icr-bg.org
25.10.2007 The Institute of
Conflict Resolution is approved
by the Ministry of Justice to train mediators!!!
24.10.2007 Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Chankova- chair of ICR made presentation
about COST Action A21 at the National COST Conference in the city of Bansko.
18.10.2007
The Institute
of Conflict
Resolution
celebrated the
International Conflict Resolution Day
with a lecture in the Institute
of Postgraduate studies - Sofia.
05.10.2007
The 5th European Forum for Restorative Justice Conference
“Building Restorative
Justice in Europe”
will take place in Verona, Italy, from 17 till 19 April 2008. For more details see http://www.euforumrj.org/Activities/conferences.htm
20.09.2007
The Institute of Conflict Resolution took part in a public discussion about the Action Plan for implementation of the European Commission recommendations
(Benchmarks)
08.08. 2007
The Institute of Conflict Resolution has launched a survey about applicability of Victim-Offender Mediation among interested groups.
20.07.2007 The new Civil Procedure Code where mediation finds its due place was promulgated.
25.06.2007 The
Institute of Conflict
Resolution
representatives took
part in mediation training in Varna.
18.06.2007 The
National Association
of Mediators in Bulgaria, whose co-founder is the Institute of Conflict Resolution, adopted a Strategy and launched a campaign for introducing of mediation in penal matters in Bulgarian justice system.
24.05. 2007 The
ICR Chair Assoc.Prof. Dr.
Dobrinka Chankova
took part in the conference “Young People in Eastern Europe and Central
Asia: From Policy to Action”, organized in Rome, Italy, by the World Bank. The results of VISTA Project have been presented.
27.03.2007. A new soft law act on the application of Mediation Act has been issued by the Ministry of Justice.
More soon!
14.12.2006
During the seminar “Restorative Justice
and Victim-Offender Mediation in Europe: Overcoming Obstacles and Strengthening of Networking”, held in Helsinki on 11 and 12 December 2006 under the auspices of Finnish Presidency of the EU, Assoc. Prof. Dr. D. Chankova
proposed the next year or decade to be proclaimed as Restorative Justice Year or Decade, according to the UN practice, in order to accelerate RJ developments in compliance with the UN, EU and Council of Europe instruments. The proposal was very well received and relevant measures for its accomplishment were undertaken.
27. 11.2006 Final COST Action A21 Conference “Restorative Justice Research in Europe: Outcomes and Challenges ”, 22-24 November
2006, Warsaw, was held
with a great success and active Bulgarian involvement.
14.11.2006
Long-waited Handbook of Restorative Justice, ed. by G. Johnstone and D.Van
Ness, with a contribution
of Prof. Dobrinka
Chankova, has been published by Willan
Publishing.
24.10.2006
Amendments to Mediation Act have been promulgated. See the
whole text.
5.10.2006 Final Conference in the frameworks of COST Action A21 “Restorative justice developments in Europe” will take place from 22 till 24 November
2006 in Warsaw. See the
conference announcement!
30.09.2006 VISTA Project ended. The Manual developed was translated into Bulgarian. More information soon.
21.06.2006
New Recommendation /2006/ 8 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe on assistance
to crime victims promotes victim-offender mediation.
See the
text.
5-7.06. 2006 In Cumberland Lodge, UK, the final meeting in the frameworks of VISTA Project took place.
10.04.2006 The Institute of Conflict Resolution launched a promotion of mediation as a dispute resolution method in 153rd Secondary School “N. Rilski”
in Sofia. The mediation procedure was demonstrated. The promotion is a part of Mediation Days in Sofia, 27 March- 14 April 2006.
03.04.2006 The Institute of Conflict Resolution, jointly with New Bulgarian University-
Sofia, organized a workshop on Mediation as a new opportunity for students. The workshop is a part of Mediation Days in Sofia, 27 March-14 April 2006.
27.03.2006 Mediation Days in
Sofia were opened. See
Mediation Days Program
1-5.03.2006 ICR
members Emilia Staninska, Grigor Vladimirov and Dobrinka Chankova took
part in the COST A21
meetings and workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel.
19.02.2006 On
the occasion of Mediation Days in Sofia the Institute of Conflict Resolution announces a student’s essay competition on the theme: Mediation- new
culture for conflict resolution. The essays should be sent to the Institute’s address icr@icr-bg.org.
The winners will be announced in April 2006.
8-10.02.2006 The regular working meeting in the framework of VISTA Project took
place in the Catholic University
of Leuven, Belgium. From
the Bulgarian side the participants were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dobrinka
Chankova
and Tanya Poshtova.
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