At its Human Rights meeting on 15-17 September 2025, the Committee of Ministers reviewed the progress made by Bulgaria in executing the European Court of Human Rights’ judgment in the case of Nencheva and Others. The case concerns the deaths of 15 children and young adults with severe mental disabilities in a social care home during the winter of 1996–1997, whose lives the authorities failed to protect, and the failure to conduct an effective investigation into these events.
The Committee recalled that the material living conditions of children with disabilities have been improved since the closure of the former care homes and took note of other measures. In particular, it welcomed the legislative amendments of May 2023, which provided for judicial review of refusals to open a criminal investigation into certain relevant offences, and for the independent representation of children whose parents have lost interest in their upbringing, once a criminal investigation has been officially initiated.
In the light of the important progress achieved since the events described in the judgment, it decided to transfer its supervision of this case from the enhanced to the standard supervision procedure, while encouraging the authorities to adopt the outstanding measures without delay.
