Bulgarian Center For Not-For-Profit Law nominate Judge Verginia Micheva-Ruseva for the award “Human of the year 2014”

Bulgarian Center For Not-For-Profit Law nominate Judge Verginia Micheva-Ruseva for the “Human of the year 2014” Award. The Human of the year Awards are an initiative of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC). The first award ceremony was on 10th December 2008. Human of the Year are the annual awards recognizing contributions to human rights.
“We are looking for the bold, the steadfast, those with civil courage who are key leaders in the human rights field. We want to distinguish and encourage them. We are looking for particular actions that are a precedent in the human rights sphere, a factor for social development, both innovative and creative. We are looking for them, because we know that often such actions go unheard and unappreciated.” – this is the mission of the awards according to the organizers from BHC.
Judge Micheva-Ruseva ruled the first judgment in Bulgaria, which refused to put a person under guardianship with the motive that on the one hand this institute contradicts the Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and on the other – that the guardianship doesn’t provide the necessary protection and support for the person. This judgment gave reason to the Bulgarian national ombudsman to refer the Constitutional Court a demand for annulment of the relevant texts in the Law of Persons and Family (LPF) as unconstitutional and a motive for the executive power to take stronger action to change the legal framework.
We believe that this judgment was not only a manifestation of extraordinary professional courage, but it also changed the environment and the context in Bulgaria (and not only in Bulgaria since it was quoted in other countries as well). It was an innovation and inspiration to all who want to prove that we are equal before the law and no one can be restricted on the basis of disability.
Voting for the “Human of the Year” Audience Award can be done from 1st to 30th November. Everyone can support his/hers favorite nominee on the web-site of the Awards, and on 10th December the official award ceremony will be held. You can see the nomination of Judge Mircheva-Ruseva here.