Following his victory in Europe, Rusi Stanev returns to court in Bulgaria

Eighteen months after losing a landmark case at the European Court of Human Rights, the Bulgarian government has done nothing to help Rusi Stanev to be freed from guardianship. This week, MDAC and its lawyer in Bulgaria, Aneta Genova, are helping Mr Stanev to challenge the state’s lethargy, asking the Bulgarian judges to free him from guardianship. At present he is still denied the right to make his own decisions and finds himself under the control of a state-appointed guardian.

Rusi Stanev continues his quest for autonomy and support to live in the community

Mr Stanev's case represents a significant challenge to the Bulgarian judiciary. A key finding of the European Court was that by restricting Mr Stanev’s legal capacity the Bulgarian government also automatically removed his right to access justice. In Bulgaria, judges are often swift to remove the legal capacity of people with disabilities but remain gripped by inertia in restoring it, even where the decisions of guardians clearly conflict with the wishes of the person under guardianship.

“The Bulgarian government has not done anything to assist Mr Stanev to be freed from the shackles of a dysfunctional guardianship system,” said Lycette Nelson, MDAC Litigation Director. “Even following the judgment in Strasbourg, Bulgaria has failed to guarantee Mr Stanev’s basic right to apply to the courts for review of his placement under guardianship.”

In January 2012 the European Court found that Mr Stanev’s nine-year detention in appalling conditions in Pastra social care institution breached his human rights. He was released from the institution soon after taking his case to the European Court and his guardian instead decided to place him in ‘protective housing’.

Mr Stanev was never consulted about where he would live. No thought was given to what support he might want and need to successfully live an independent life in the community. Instead, the ‘protective housing’ turned out to be a closed group home located on the premises of a psychiatric institution where Mr Stanev experienced even less freedom than before.

A right to autonomy and support?

Mr Stanev prepares his case with MDAC lawyer Aneta Genova

Through his own efforts, Mr Stanev eventually secured his release from the group home in May 2013, finally moving to a flat of his own. He still, however, finds himself under the guardianship of a civil servant, restricting his right to make key decisions about his life. The move from institutions to living in the community marks a substantial transition for Mr Stanev. Yet he has been given no community support to prepare him for his new life, and instead is reliant on voluntary help given to him by friends and supporters.

In the case lodged this week at the Blagoevgrad Regional Court, Mr Stanev is asking for his legal capacity to be restored. He is asking the judge to apply Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This provision sets out a legal right to autonomy, and a state obligation to provide supports to exercise that autonomy. Bulgaria ratified the CRPD last year, and MDAC calls on the authorities to speed up law reform efforts to put an end to its outdated guardianship system, which plunges people – including Mr Stanev – into civil death.

MDAC represented Mr Stanev before the European Court of Human Rights and will continue to provide him with expert legal advice and assistance. Please donate to MDAC to support the legal costs for Mr Stanev’s quest for full independence.