The changes in the regime for the protection of classified information are extremely worrying. They are currently being subject to public discussion in accordance with the legal procedure. The public discussion will end on September 28, after which, as a matter of law, the Council of Ministers can submit the changes to parliament. This was commented on by lawyer Alexander Kashumov to Lili Marinkova in the “FACTI“ studio and the “Conversation“ show.
“Why are these changes dangerous? They precisely introduce the return of eternal secrecy. Let us not forget that during the totalitarian regime, state secrets had eternal protection, there were no deadlines after which the protection could be withdrawn. The essential thing is that this secret was so strong that it continued to exist for years after the changes. For the first time, the state secret with its complex norms, as well as the services that applied it, changed in 2002 with the adoption of the Law on the Protection of Classified Information. Then, deadlines for the protection of secrets were introduced. Now this law has been introduced in Bulgaria, because in all democratic countries there is such a standard“, the guest added.
“A type of state secret of the highest degree, related to the protection of national security, cannot be eternal. This is so because every Bulgarian citizen has the right to have access to information, which is constitutionally guaranteed. But this is so because of the very nature of qualified information. The longer the state secret exists, the more difficult it is to keep. If two employees have special access to such a secret, the protection is greater than if 20 people have it. If a state secret is kept for five years, it will be better protected than if it is for a period of 30 years“, lawyer Kashumov also shared.
“What is actually being done? These changes, which are not the first time they have been submitted for adoption, are a problem. In 2002, discussions began with people responsible for the Security Commission, the predecessor of SANS. These were broad-minded, educated people, adhering to some standards of the democratic world. It was mainly agreed that there would be a reduction in protection. Our legislation has three levels of state secret - 5, 15 and 30 years, depending on how significant the information is. As an exception, these periods can be extended, but not more than twice, with the consent of the State Commission for Information Protection. "And now they want this to be abolished and the terms to be doubled, tripled, and these periods of protection of state secrets to be increased," the lawyer also revealed.
See more of the conversation in the VIDEO.