The European Court of Human Rights sentenced Bulgaria for the illegal use of secret surveillance measures.
The case originated in an application against Bulgaria lodged with the Court on 13 September 2000. It was lodged by the Association for European Integration and Human Rights, a non-profit association, and by Mihail Ekimdzhiev.
The applicants alleged that the Bulgarian legislation allowing the use of secret surveillance measures infringed their rights under Articles 6, 8 and 13 of the Convention, as it fell short of the standards stemming from the Court's case-law under these provisions.
The Court accepted that the existence of legislation allowing secret surveillance amounts in itself to an interference with the applicants' rights. The judges concluded that Bulgarian law does not provide sufficient guarantees against the risk of abuse which is inherent in any system of secret surveillance. Nevertheless, the court did not demand the country to amend its Special Surveillance Means Act of 1997.
The Court sentenced Bulgaria to pay the applicants jointly, within three months from the date on which the judgment becomes final, EUR 1,000 in respect of costs and expenses, plus any tax that may be chargeable.