THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN

Contents
	The European Ombudsman
	Bulgarian Parliamentary Ombudsman
	Local Ombudsmen in Bulgaria

Local ombudsman type institutions in Bulgaria have been established for the first time in late 1998. Due to the lack of legislation, since 2003 local ombudsmen have operated in the framework of pilot projects based on special agreements between civil society organizationas and local authorities. In 2003, with the adoption of the amendments to the Law on Local Self-Government and Local Administration, municipal councils have been entitled to elect public mediators (Article 21а of the Law). Based on this legal framework many municipalities established public mediators.