ANNEX - CASE STUDIES ON GOOD PRACTICES ANNEX 2: BULGARIA MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH IN CASE MANAGEMENT The promising practice identified in Bulgaria during the desk research and interviews was that of a multidisciplinary approach in case management by social workers/ service providers, psychiatrists/psychologists (as expert witnesses), the person with a disability and his/her relatives/close persons and judges applied by two judges in two courts during court proceedings for involuntary/compulsory treatment. It was set up within a project and showed good results but is an exception in practice. The positive sides of this approach are that the judges receive valuable and reliable information about the person’s actual situation, needs and potential and may decide the case in a way that respects the rights of the person with disabilities (with a focus on Art 6 (fair trial) ECHR and Art 12 and Art 13 of the UNCRPD). The approach also helps the person to be ensured with support during the proceedings and afterwards. Description of the project: Name: Ex iure ad iusstatium (from law to justice); principles of fair trial for persons with disabilities, http://equalrights.gip-sofia.org. During the period 2020-2022, the Bulgarian Centre for Non-Profit Law (human rights NGO), the Global Initiatives in Psychiatry Sofia (service providing NGO, lead partner) and the Union of Judges in Bulgaria (partner) had implemented a project "Ex iure ad iusstatium (from law to justice); principles for a fair trial for people with disabilities", supported by the Active Citizens Fund - Bulgaria (www. activecitizensfund.bg) within the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area 2014-2021. The project aimed to unite the efforts of practising judges, lawyers and NGOs (service providers and human rights NGOs) in elaboration and testing of an innovative algorithm for applying procedures guaranteeing the respect of the rights of persons 120 with disabilities in accordance with the most modern international human rights acts (mainly ECHR and UNCRPD) in court proceedings. The model mainly affected proceedings for placement of persons with psycho-social and intellectual disabilities in specialised institutions under the Social Assistance Act, for compulsory treatment under the Health Act and for involuntary treatment under the Criminal Procedure Code. The main anticipated outcome was the creation of tools to turn the court into a social centre integrating knowledge and support for the person in a vulnerable situation. During the project implementation new and specialised training materials, guaranteeing that the rights of people with psycho-social and intellectual disabilities are respected in court procedures at every stage, were developed and discussed. A guidebook and two analyses are being elaborated currently and will be uploaded on the website of the project (in Bulgarian) http://equalrights. gip-sofia.org. The elaborated model for multidisciplinary approach in case management in the above mentioned cases was tested in 40 court cases by the judges, expert witnesses and social service providers. The main target groups are judges, prosecutors, service providing NGOs, and persons with psycho-social and/or intellectual disabilities. The identified problems that led to this project were: the poor out-patient healthcare services; the poverty and the lack of access to support and meaningful activities for persons with psycho-social and/or intellectual disabilities; and the lack of coordination between police, court, psychiatric facilities and social services. All these problems lead to long unnecessary stays of patients who do not need active treatment in psychiatric hospitals or to lack of any care while treatment is needed. In the meantime, these persons with disabilities do not receive any support during the court proceedings either.