The Bulgarian Ombudsman recommended to the Minister of labour and social policy that part of the text of an instructing letter sent on 22.04.2010 written by the director of Social assistance agency must be repealed because it imposes barriers to the legally defined objective to enable the receipt of financial aid by citizens for the issuance of their personal IDs. Mr. Konstantin Penchev was signaled by the Bulgarian Institute for Legal Initiatives (BILI).
The letter imposes limitations to the implementation of art. 16a of the Regulation on the implementation of the Social assistance act, which states that for issuance of a personal ID financial aid up to the amount of the legally guaranteed minimal income may be granted only once. The director of Social assistance agency shall establish the exact amount of the grant on the basis of cost estimation. However, the letter introduces the phrase “for issuance of first personal ID” and thus limits substantially the scope of the law excluding all other situations. For instance, grant will not be received by citizens in case of lost or stolen IDs, issuance after expiration, changes in permanent address and civil status.
The ombudsman wrote to the minister that firstly, this method of issuance limits the scope of the provision to a single situation – the first issuance of ID. In this case it is necessary to stipulate that the first issuance of ID is cost-free in the age between 14 and 16. Secondly, the instructions written by the director complement the law, go beyond his legal authority and deprive citizens of the opportunity to receive financial aid for the issuance of ID.