The “Padlock” anti-award went to the Ministry of Justice for refusing to comply with a court decision under which it was obliged to provide access to the memos from the meetings held between Bulgarian judiciary and executive representatives with European Commission (EC) officials.

The meetings were conducted between 2007 and 2018 and were related to the CVM - EC's Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, a monitoring procedure introduced after Bulgaria and Romania's adhesion to the EU. Under the scope of the CVM, both countries were monitored due their difficulties in combating corruption and organized crime. Instead of executing the court decision and providing the requested information, the Ministry of Justice issued yet another refusal based on grounds identical to those already revoked by the court.

The Ministry of the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Interior - Sofia City received this year's dishonorary diploma for refusing to answer to questions about police violence during protests against the government and the Prosecutor General, and in particular about the punishments received by law enforcement officials who used excessive physical force.