Bulgaria's plan for special tribunal triggers heated debate

The Bulgarian government is proposing to set up a special tribunal for cases of organised crime and high-level corruption in a bid to speed up trials in that area.

"The specialised court is necessary to speed up justice," interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov said. "The efficiency of justice in the EU is much higher than in Bulgaria."

But the plan is drawing flak from the Socialist opposition, human rights groups and lawyers, who argue the extraordinary tribunals would encroach on t...