January
15 January The first general meeting of the RLI members for 2002 was carried out. The forthcoming events and the direction for 2002 were discussed at the meeting.
17 January Associated members of RLI were present at a lecture of the Ambassador of Spain in the Republic of Bulgaria , carried out in "Sheraton" hotel.
21 January A meeting of the project coordinators was carried out in the office of RLI. The purpose of the meeting was to be actualized the information in connection with the activities of the different project.
23 January Mr. Latchezar Popov as a Chairman of RLI and Diana Daskalova - Project coordinator in RLI had a meeting in the office of the Open Society Foundation with the Program coordinator and the Coordinator of the program COLPI . The possibility for a mutual future work between both organizations was discussed at the meeting. The representatives of OSF got acquainted with the activity of RLI, its projects and principles of work.
23 January. The Chairman of RLI - Mr. Latchezar Popov was invited to participate as one of the four speakers in the organized by the American Center to the Embassy of the USA in Bulgaria meeting-discussion in memory of Martin Luther King Jr. The theme "Tolerance in the contemporary society" was discussed at the meeting
31 January. The first Business Breakfast for 2002 was carried out in "Shamrok" restaurant. Speaker at the breakfast was Mr. Keith Thomas - Liaison of the American Bar Association for Central and Eastern Europe .
February
05 February A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute.
12 February Mrs. Sharon Miles - the wife of the Ambassador of the USA in the Republic of Bulgaria and the Director of the section "Rule and Law" to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) visited the office of RLI and met with the Chairman Mr. Popov the Project coordinator - Miss. Daskalova. The direction of the RLI activity, the developed projects and the possibilities for future cooperation were discussed at the meeting.
18 February A regular meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute.
21 February A m meeting on the RLI project "Manual for Human Rights of Bulgarian Police" was held in RLI office. Mr. Boiko Slavchev - an expert from the Ministry of Interior and adv. Hristo Doshkov took part in the meeting.
28 February The following Business Breakfast, organized by RLI, was carried out.
March
03-04 March A seminar on the project "Human Rights of Women" was carried out in Montenegro . Ms. Nevena Stefanova - the coordinator of the project, took part as a representative of RLI in that meeting.
05 March A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute.
12 March Mr. Latchezar Popov and Ms. Diana Daskalova had a meeting with Mr. Vasilev - Director of Central Department Places for Depriving of Freedom (CDPDF) in R.Bulgaria. The meeting was carried out in the office of Mr. Vasilev and the purpose was to discuss the possible future opportunities for cooperation between RLI and CDPDF. Mr. Borislav Stratiev - legal adviser at CDPDF, also took part in the meeting.
12 March A meeting on the project "New Generation Lawyers" with coordinator Valery Jdrakov was carried out in the office of the Institute.
14 March The following Business Breakfast, organized by RLI, was carried out in "Shamrock" restaurant.
20 March The associated members of RLI Valentin Savov, Diana Daskoalova and Ivailo Tsenov were invited to be present at the meeting of young Bulgarians with Mr. Jean-Jacques Schul - President of Association of Citizens for Promotion of the European Currency and former President of the European Investment Bank.
20 March The first students' meeting in connection with the project of RLI "Law Students Lectures" was carried out in the office of the Institute. Lecturer at the meeting was Maria Todorova - Member of the Board of Directors of RLI and Chief Legal Adviser of "InjStroy" LTD, Sofia. The theme of the discussion was "Arbitration procedures".
April
09 April Representatives of RLI have been invited to the official presentation of the Special Bulletin of the "Tolerance" Foundation, carried out in the American Center in Sofia . The Bulletin contains translated decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States of America in connection with the protection of the religious rights and freedoms.
10 April The following students' meeting in connection with the project of RLI "Law Students Lectures" with coordinator Mr.Valentin Savov was carried out in the office of the Institute. Lecturer at the meeting was Petromir Kantchev - Member of RLI, Barrister at law and Former Investigator. The theme of the discussion was "Pre-court procedures in connection with criminal law cases".
23 April A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Official speaker at the meeting was Mr. Krasimir Kanev - Chairman of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee. The theme was "State and Religion in modern society".
24 April Second for the month students' meeting in connection with the project of RLI "Law Students Lectures" with coordinator Mr.Valentin Savov was carried out in the office of the Institute. Lecturer at the meeting was Milena Velikova - Member of RLI and Legal Advise in the Council of Ministers of the R. Bulgaria. The theme of the discussion was "Basic condition for conclusion of contracts".
May
23 May A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Official speaker at the meeting was Prof. Dechko Svilenov - Representative for Bulgaria of "Europartners" and Chairman of foundation "Friends of Bulgaria". The theme was "The responsibility of the lawyer as a Christian in society".
29 May The Chairman of Advocates International - Mr. Sam Ericsson arrived in Bulgaria. He will be here for his participation as an international expert on human rights and religion freedoms in the National Conference on the Bulgarian Law on Religion, as well as for the Regional Conference of Advocates Europe, planed for the beginning of June.
30 May A delegation from Sofia, including Mr. Ericsson, Mr. Latchezar Popov - Chairman of RLI and Mr. Roussi Roussev - secretary of RLI left for a two days visit in Blagoevgrad, where they will participate in the official opening of a law library of Advocates International and RLI - Bulgaria in the law faculty of the Souith West University in Blagoevgrad. There was an official ceremony on donating the law books for the new library.
June
4-5 June On June 4, in park-hotel "Moskva", Sofia , Bulgaria started the two-days' National Conference on the Law on Religion , organized by the Rule of Law Institute in Sofia . At this Conference the state and the local administration were represented, as well as some different denominations. The event took place just between the first and the second reading of the drafts for a new Law on Religion in the country. It's purpose was to reflect the social discussion on the three drafts for Law on Religion and to submit an official Declaration with opinions and proposals on behalf of the participants in the National Assembly.
6 June A business breakfast was carried out in "Hilton" hotel, Sofia . Speakers at this breakfast were Mr. John Langlois - Chairman of Advocates Europe and Mr. Samuel Ericsson - Chairman of Advocates International. The Minister of Justice in the Rep. Of Bulgaria - Mr. Anton Stankov and the Vice-Minister of Justice - Mr. Sevdalin Bojikov were present at the event.
6-9 June The European Regional Conference " Justice, Ethics and Moral Values in Modern Europe ", was carried out in Sofia, Bulgaria, on June 06-09. We have had about 200 participants from whole Europe , 18 countries represented, 6 ambassadors taking part. This is the second regional conference on the continent. There was a delegation of 22 Armenians, taking a bus-ride to Sofia . Official speakers at the conference were Mr. John Langlois - Chairman of Advocates Europe, Samuel Ericsson - Advocates International President and CEO, Sir Frederick Catherwood - former Vice-President of the European Parliament, Mr. Latchezar Popov - Executive Director of Advocates Europe, Mrs. Eija-Riitta Korhola - Member of the European Parliament, Dr. Jose Vera Jardim - former Minister of Justice in Portugal, Mr. Dimitar Gotchev - former Judge in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasburg and present Judge in the Constitutional Court of the Rep. Of Bulgaria, Rev. Johan Candelin - Executive Director of World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, Vassilios Tsirbas from Greece, Ekatherina Smyslova from Russia, Wade Channell - USA, LEGAL Reform Specialist, etc. This was the largest gathering of international Christian law professionals in the history of Europe .
10-11 June On June 10, just after the European Regional Conference, in the office of RLI, Sofia/Bulgaria was carried out a seminar on " Peacemakers ". We had Chip Zimmer as a speaker at this seminar. This is the first such event, carried out in Bulgaria . A lot of people were invited to visit it and most of them heard about the principles of the Biblical reconciliation for the first time.
15 June Mr. Latchezar Popov left together with Mr. Boiko Slavchev - expert in the Ministry of Interior, Mrs. Kristina Dilova - law adviser in the Ministry of Interior and Mr. Hristo Doshkov - lawyer for a several-days visit in Copenhagen , Denmark , in connection with the following Balkan meeting on the project "Police Manual".
18 June The following general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of RLI. This was the first meeting after the European Conference, when people could share their impressions and experiences during the passed Conference.
24-25 June Maria Todorova - Member of the Board of Directors of RLI, took part as a representative of the Institute in a Conference "European System of probation - legal decisions and practice", organized by the Ministry of Justice and carried out in "Boiana" residence.
July
11 July In connection with the passed National Conference, which is a part of the project for New Law on Religion in Bulgaria , sponsored by the Democracy Commission, RLI carried out a seminar, which took place on July 11 in the town of Varna . The seminar was focused on getting together people from the local administration and religious leaders on a local level. They will discuss religious liberty issues connected with the local administration. The mayor of Varna opened the seminar. A declaration on behalf of the participants was submitted to the National Assembly after the seminar.
23 July On 23 of August in town of Plovdiv, "Maritsa" hotel, was held the second and final seminar on the three drafts for a new Bulgarian Creeds Act. There were discussions regarding religious liberty issues connected with the local administration. Immediately after the seminars we started preparation of the so called "Religious Freedom Reporter" book including reports on religious violations, the national conference, press conferences and two seminars.
30 July Mr. Latchezar Popov was invited to take part in the Muslim Conference, organized in Sofia in connection with discussions on the three drafts of the Bulgarian Law on Religion.
30 July A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Official speaker at the meeting was Prof. Dechko Svilenov - Representative for Bulgaria of "Europartners" and Chairman of foundation "Friends of Bulgaria". Prof. Svilenov presented the second part of his theme on "The responsibility of the lawyer as a Christian in society".
August
6 August At the beginning of August the publishing of the "Manual for the Human Rights of police officers" was finalized, which is part of the project with the Danish Center for Human Rights, started last year. Regarding the future training of police officers with the upper mentioned Manual, Mr. Latchezar Popov and Mr. Boico Slavchev from the Ministry of Interior held a meeting in the National Police Academy with Mr. Ivan Stankov.
7 August A working team from DEMO TV - a private Bulgarian TV channel - visited the office of RLI and took an interview from the Chairman Mr. Latchezar Popov. Mr. Popov shared with the journalists about the passed National Conference on the Bulgarian Law on Religion and the two seminars in Plovdiv and Varna, as well as the situation of the religious freedom and tolerance in the country. The interview was included in the Friday emission of "Christianity today" - broadcasting in the program of DEMO TV. The Bulgarian TV spectators learned more about the Rule of Law Institute and its activity, as well as about the activity of Advocates Europe and the passed Regional European Conference of Christian Lawyers, carried out in June.
13 August A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Mr. Latchezar Popov made a summary for the development of the organization since 1995 and invited the associated members to make their proposals for the improvement of the future work of the Institute.
20 August A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Official speaker at the meeting was Prof. Dechko Svilenov - Representative for Bulgaria of "Europartners" and Chairman of foundation "Friends of Bulgaria". Prof. Svilenov presented the third part of his theme on "The responsibility of the lawyer as a Christian in society".
September
16-19 September Mr. Latchezar Popov - president of the Rule of Law Institute, was invited to take part in the Latin American Regional Conference of Christian lawyers, organized by Advocates International. The conference was carried out from 16 to 19 September in San José , Costa Rica . There were two hundred lawyers from 30 nations. Mr. Keneth Starr gave the Keynote address on Monday evening and Mr. Sam Ericsson spoke at several luncheons. Latcho Popov shared his experience, representing Advocates Europe as its President at the Latin conference.
26-29 September Mr Latchezar popov left for Asheville, North Carolina to take part in the 2002 Annual Conference of the PeaceMaker Ministries, which was carried out on September 26-29 and was attended by over 300 participants, including pastors and lawyers, together with 16 representatives of the different continents. On September 24-26 he finished the 2 - day course in Reconciliation, which was held in the Billy Graham Ministry's center - "The Cove", attended by over 100 participants.
27-29 September Mrs. Diana Daskalova and Mr. Ivaylo Tsenov represented RLI in a Regional NGO fair, carried out in Timisoara, Romania. The specific object of the third edition of the Regional Fair was "to enhance policy dialogue among civil society practitioners and local government representatives on how to build an open government". The NGO Fair was organized by the Euroregional Center for Democracy and there were representatives from all Balkan countries.
October
8 October In the office of RLI the first part of the seminar on theme "General directions in Fund Raising for NGOs" was carried out. Speaker at the seminar was Mr. Roussi Roussev - stuff member in RLI office.
15 October A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Official speaker at the meeting was Prof. Dechko Svilenov - Representative for Bulgaria of "Europartners" and Chairman of foundation "Friends of Bulgaria". Prof. Svilenov presented the forth and last part of his theme on "The responsibility of the lawyer as a Christian in society".
16 October In the office of RLI the second part of the seminar on theme "General directions in Fund Raising for NGOs" with speaker Mr. Roussi Roussev was carried out.
21 October A ceremony regarding the official opening of a law library in the SouthWest University in Blagoevgrad was carried out. The library was donated to the SouthWest University by Advocates International in cooperation with the Regent University through the Rule of Law Institute. A lot of public officials, professors and students took part in the ceremony. Mr Latchezar Popov represented RLI and Advocates International in Blagoevgrad.
22 October Mr. Latchezar Popov was invited to be present at the lecture of the famous american lawyer Mr. Roy Freed on theme "Real ethical business behavior". The lecture was organized by the Union of Lawyers in Bulgaria in cooperation with the Bulgarian Trade Palace.
24 October Mr. Latchezar Popov and Mrs. Diana Daskalova left for Washington DC, USA, to take part in the Advocates International Conference, where 35 international representatives from Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa were invited to take part. During their stay in Washington the delegates had the opportunity to build relationship and exchange experience of what happens in the spiritual, social, political and professional sphere in their continents and nations and how they make an impact as lawyers, working together during the passed year. New strategies and projects were worked out for the coming 2003.
31 October On 31 October the international guests of Advocates International joined and took part in the Christian Legal Society North American and Caribbean conference , which will be held in Savannah , Georgia on Oct. 31-Nov. 3. The theme of the conference was "Faith @ Work: Living Out the Hope Within You!" Almost 500 American lawyers were present at this event.
November
12 November A brief general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Mr. Latchezar Popov shared his experience at the Advocates International/ Christian Legal Society North American and Caribbean conference.
The first RLI meeting of women Christian lawyers was carried out in the office of the Institute. Leader of the meeting was Mrs. Stefka Krastanova - prosecutor at the Civil Prosecutors Office in the Republic of Bulgaria .
25 November A meeting regarding the official presentation of the newly published by RLI book "Law and Religion - Monitoring of the Religious Freedom in the Republic of Bulgaria ", was carried our in the office of the Institute. The book is a product of the RLI project on the Law on Religion in Bulgaria , funded by the Democracy Commission at the American Embassy. At the meeting Church leaders from different religious denominations, represented in the country, were invited to take part. The participants had a discussion on the last project for a New Law on Religion and the proposals for its improving and supplementation.
26 November A general meeting of the associated members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Special guest-speaker at the meeting was Mrs. Luci Popova - Direcor for Bulgaria of the program "Pro Life" Two video materials and a lecture regarding the post abortion syndrome were presented.
December
3 December A general meeting of the RLI members was carried out in the office of the Institute. Official speaker at this meeting was Mr. Michael Seidenstricker - political and cultural counselor of the USA Embassy in the Republic of Bulgaria. Mr. Seidenstricker shared with the RLI audience his statement on theme "The world after September 11 th - global perspectives". There was a discussion and a cocktail after the lecture.
9 December A meeting regarding the expected new Creeds Act was carried out in Plovdiv . Leader of different religious denominations as well as public figures and lawyers - members of RLI, were invited at the meeting. Mr. Popov shared the perspectives of the last draft of the law, discussed in the Parliament, and a discussion on the matter took place.
27 December The last meeting for 2002 took place in the office of RLI. A big number of associated members, partners and guests of the Institute gathered together to celebrate the Christmas and New Year's holidays.
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