Education

PhD in Law, Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski

Biography

Dr. Maria Yordanova joined the CSD in the late 1998 and was director of the Law Program until 2019. She has led the Center’s law drafting efforts aimed at approximation of Bulgarian legislation to acquis communautaire, and at establishing and supporting contacts between the Bulgarian legal community and government agencies. Other areas of Dr. Yordanova's specialization include promotion of the EU standards in human rights protection through introduction of the ombudsman institution in Bulgaria and development of the legal and strategic framework of anti-corruption for Bulgaria, including regional cooperation. She has coordinated a number of projects in the area of human rights, justice, liberty and security, several research initiatives to improve prison conditions and rights of victims of crimes, as well as studies on public confidence in the criminal justice system. In the period 1999-2003 she was coordinator of the Judicial Reform Initiative for Bulgaria. Since 2008, she is the Center’s representative in the Fundamental Rights Platform of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency and Member of the Board of Advisors of International Development Law Organization (IDLO). She is also Member of the Advisory Group to the Asia-Europe Foundation’s Asia-Europe Democratization and Justice Series.

Previously, she was Assistant Professor on Comparative Constitutional Law and Systems at the University of National and World Economy in Sofia and senior legal advisor at the United Bulgarian Bank Ltd.