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About Bulgaria - Judiciary System
The judicial power in Bulgaria is independent. It is built up on the basis of a procedure of three instances.
Statutory law governs Bulgaria. Case Law doctrines of precedent and stare decisions are unknown. The legal system is based on legal models found elsewhere in Europe, especially on the civil law systems of France, Germany, Italy and Belgium. After the Second World War and the Soviet troop invasion in the country Soviet influenced laws were introduced. However, most of the principles of the civil law system were not destroyed.
After 1989 democratization of the country, most of the laws based on the Soviet Union system were repealed and replaced with acts influenced by the EU legislation.
The harmonization of the Bulgarian legal system with the EU one is still continuing.
A major effort toward democratization is the Constitution of 1991, which sets forth the principle of new social order: supremacy of national laws and international treaties ratified by the National Assembly; separation of powers and independent judiciary; respect for the human rights, including private property rights; free economic entrepreneurship and equal treatment of state and private property; protection of foreign investments, among others.
Bulgarian judicial system complies of three instances. Regional courts, District courts, Courts martial, Courts of appeal, Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative Court operate within its structure.
The Regional court operates only as a first instance court. All cases are under its competence, except those, which, according to the provisions of the law, are jurisdictional to another court.
The District Court operates either as a first or as a second instance court. Some categories of civil and criminal cases, provided by the law, are jurisdictional to the District court as a first instance court. As a second instance court it functions on cases initiated upon claims and protests against Regional court’s decisions. The District court may comprise Civil, Commercial, Penal and Administrative departments.
Court of appeal operates only as a second instance court on cases upon appeals and protests against first instance court’s decisions. The Court of appeal may comprise Civil, Commercial and Penal departments.
The Supreme Court of Cassation is the high instance for penal and civil cases. It exercises supreme judicial supervision for precise and equal application of the law by all Courts. Its jurisdiction spreads upon the whole territory of the Republic of Bulgaria. It consists of civil, penal and military college, divided into departments.
The Supreme Administrative Court is the high instance for administrative justice. It is an instance of cassation for the judicial acts of all Courts concerning legality of the administrative acts. The law defines a group of acts, subject to appeal at the Supreme Administrative Court, for which this is the sole instance.
The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) and the Supreme Cassation Court (SCC) exercise control over the implementation of the law by the courts of lower instances, SAC takes decisions on the legality of the executive power’s acts.
Lack of Jurisdiction – Bulgarian courts do not have jurisdiction over foreign states. Diplomats enjoy full jurisdictional immunity.
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