Contemporary Trends in the Development of the Anti-Corruption Legislation of Republic of Bulgaria

In 2000, the global policy against the phenomenon of “corruption“ was launched by the United Nations, and in 2003 the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was adopted, which Bulgaria ratified three years later. Two months after the adoption of this international convention, Bulgaria became part of the European Union. The accession was accompanied by the creation of “specific accompanying measures” aimed at correcting identified deficiencies in various areas, including measures against corruption. As a result of the annual reports of the European Commission on Bulgaria’s progress on the Co-operation and Verification Mechanism, anti-corruption law-making has begun to develop and improve. Serious progress in this direction is the creation of legislation in the area of “conflict of interest”, which is not exactly corruption but creates prerequisites for its development, especially in the public sphere. The paper presents the result of the analysis of the created anti-corruption legislation after the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the EU. Particular attention is paid to the law adopted in 2018 regulating anti-corruption measures, as well as the terms and procedure for the seizure of illegally acquired property for the benefit of the state.