way of public notification shall offset the following shortcomings in their work and will greatly facilitate the work of social workers. The NPM believes that the right to seek information must be converted into the right to receive written information on matters related to the implementation of the sentence. Living conditions. Overpcrowing Problems in this area have been accumulated for decades and are well known in the community. During the last 20 years major repairs have been made only in one prison and three “new” dormitories of open type have been created (in old buildings). In these years the state budget has served other public priorities and the system of imprisonment was almost isolated. Therefore, the traditional explanation during this period was related to the lack of funding. It is very important Bulgarian state institutions not to forget the basic principle in art. 4 of Recommendation No Rec (2006) 2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the European Prison Rules, which states that “the prison conditions that violate the human rights of prisoners can not be justified by lack of resources.” The NPM inspections have found out that almost all prisons and dormitories of closed type, as well as the majority of detention facilities provide conditions that inevitably lead to assessment of inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners. Indicative in this respect are the cases in the European Court of Human Rights, under which our country was ordered to pay compensation. A major question facing the Bulgarian society and the government is whether to meet minimum living standards or to pay compensation for possible claims before the ECHR. In 2006 by Recommendation No Rec (2006) 2 of the Committee of Ministers of member states on the European Prison Rules standards for living conditions were introduced. They must be consistent with the respect for human dignity of prisoners. Conditions should allow for privacy and should comply with the hygiene and health requirements, paying due attention to the weather conditions and especially the content per cubic meter of air, space, lighting, heating and ventilation. Windows must be large enough to allow entry of fresh air. Artificial lighting must comply with the technical standards. It is necessary to build a signalling system by which prisoners can establish direct contact with staff. Requirement is also introduced the national legislation to establish a mechanism for ensuring that these minimum requirements are not violated because of prison overcrowding. Based on the above rules in 2008 by Decision No 767 of the Council of Ministers (CoM) a Programme for Adoption of the Strategy for Development of detention facilities in Republic of Bulgaria for the period 2009-2015 was adopted, as well as an Action Plan and Investment programme for the construction, reconstruction and modernization of the facilities of the penitentiary and probation system for the same period. The document provides for the Minister of Justice to prepare and submit a biennial report to the Council of Ministers on the implementation of the action plan on achievement of the objectives of the strategy and implementation of the investment programme. As from 01.06.2009 a new Law on Implementation of Penal Sanctions and Detention has entered into force as well. Pursuant to art. 84, para 1 of the above law an investment programme for improvement of material living conditions detention facilities for 2010 was adopted in accordance with the Annex to the Decision No 168 of 26 March 2010 the Council of Ministers. By a decision 10 Annual Report of the National Preventive Mechanism | OMBUDSMAN OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA