My name is
Kim Kham and this summer I had the opportunity to do my first internship with
the Rule of Law Institute (RLI) in Bulgaria, an organization affiliated with
Advocates International. The two main projects that I worked on while at the
Rule of Law Institute dealt with lobbying and required informed consent for an
abortion.
Many
ex-communist countries’ governments, like Bulgaria’s, are still being rebuilt
to this day. As a result, one of the most imperative issues that many advocates
of justice in the country are working hard towards is the implementation of
legislation on lobbying. Bulgaria currently does not have legislation on
lobbying which, many believe, contributes to the rampant corruption in the
country and the lack of transparency in the government. Corruption is prevalent
in all levels of the government which has also affected the country’s
difficulty to move forward and properly rebuild itself. The RLI is currently
working with a university in Bulgaria to draft a law on lobbying. Generally,
when there is a lack of legislation or regulations in Bulgaria, the country
looks to its surrounding neighbors to keep up with the legislative current of
Europe. Most of my work on the lobbying
project dealt with researching the lobbying regulations of the surrounding
European countries. During my time in Bulgaria, I was able to meet many people
from all walks of life, occupations, and ages who told me that the main issue
the people of Bulgaria have with the government is that there is too much
corruption. This project was especially meaningful to me because of my Burmese
background and the immense amount of corruption that happens in Bulgaria is almost
parallel to Burma.
The other
project I worked on dealt with researching the abortion laws of different
countries in Europe. Bulgaria currently has very lenient requirements for women
wanting to obtain an abortion and the RLI is working towards drafting
legislation to require that the woman undergoing an abortion give her full
informed consent (including having an ultrasound performed). The Institute says
that it is trying to write more pro-life legislation to present to Parliament
but that this is just a stepping stone to hopefully one day get there.
One of my
favorite parts about the internship was that I was able to sit in on a couple
of civil court of appeals hearings, got a personal tour of the whole Palace of
Justice from one of the civil court of appeals judges (pictured), and a full
description of the justice system in Bulgaria. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in
Bulgaria and am sad that my time in Bulgaria has now come to an end, but I am
very grateful for the opportunities that this summer has presented to me!
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