Law Journal of New Bulgarian University

2025-10-13T07:38:41+00:00

Intellectual Property Rights: Between Entrepreneurial Freedom and Freedom of Creativity

2025-10-13T07:55:43+00:00

The article examines questions related to intellectual property rights and fundamental human rights: freedom of creativity and the right to property, as well as their importance as a prerequisite for entrepreneurial freedom. The activity of the entrepreneur in the realization of creative achievements, the conditions and factors for successful production are clarified. Particular attention is paid to the process of technology transfer as an indicator of sustainable development, innovative activity and competitiveness of countries and their economic development. The need to strengthen the connection between research centers and production units in the country is indicated. The challenges in modern economic development and the role of entrepreneurship and innovation are examined. Attention is also paid to entrepreneurship in Bulgaria and the problems posed by the current economic situation of the country.

Legal Framework for Testing of Automated Vehicles in France

2025-10-13T08:08:00+00:00

Movement of experimental automated vehicles on public roads naturally raises serious concerns over safety of the participants in the road traffic, as well as of surrounding movable and immovable property. Therefore, the establishment of clear rules is necessary which aim to minimize the risks associated with the experiment and the potential damages caused. In the last ten years the French lawmaker developed an overall legal framework of experiments with automated vehicles with the highest level of automation. The present article analyzes the legal regulation laid down in France which encompasses the safety requirements as well as the criminal liability associated with testing of automated vehicles in real conditions.

New Requirements for the Provision of Public Sector Information in Bulgaria

2025-10-13T08:21:49+00:00

This research is a review of the amendments and additions to the Access to Public Information Act, which are in force from the end of 2023, and which ensure the introduction into Bulgarian legislation of the requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/1024 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on open data and the re-use of public sector information. The expanded scope of a basic concept of the matter, namely that of re-use of information from the public sector, the corresponding changes in the circle of obliged subjects and the introduced new principle for re-use of information of “openness by design and by default” have been examined. The analysis of the adopted legislation emphasizes the new requirements for public sector organizations in the provision of public sector information. These include obligations to publish research data, dynamic data, high-value datasets, practical arrangements facilitating the search for documents available for re-use, and reporting on progress in the field.

Constitution, Organizational Structure and Statutory Powers of the Commission for Counteracting Corruption

2025-10-13T08:34:42+00:00

This article explores the statutory framework regulating the constitution, organizational structure, and legal competencies of the Commission for Counteracting Corruption. It further analyzes the procedure for nomination, admissibility assessment, and election of the Commission’s members by the National Assembly.

Justifiable Defense as a Civil Right

2025-10-13T08:50:11+00:00

The current article focuses on the matter of the Civil Law characteristics of justifiable defense, the latter being mainly the subject of Criminal Law researches. Its regulatory framework, which is placed in art. 12 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Bulgaria, provides its principal features which are discussed from the point of view of Civil Law, in order to find out whether justifiable defense is a civil right. Then, established classifications of the types of civil rights are used so that a complete legal specificity of justifiable defense for the purposes of Civil Law can be achieved.

Historical, Biopsychosocial and Legal Aspects Related to Cannabis Use

2025-10-13T09:08:12+00:00

Two main aspects related to the psychoactive use of hemp can be distinguished in the analysis of cannabis policy. The political-legal approach examines the situation through the prism of historical events that shaped public attitudes and influenced the development and implementation of relevant policies regulating the legal status of cannabis over the past two millennia. Modern scientific approaches allow us to analyze the main theories on this subject from the perspective of social psychology, which is closely connected to current discoveries about the biochemistry of processes in the human body related to cannabis use.

Are the Laws of Hamurapi a Social Phenomenon

2025-10-13T09:23:39+00:00

In our time, great respect is paid to the law of ancient Rome. It is the basis of modern civil and criminal law. But perhaps it is time to rethink the existing theories and give due credit to the achievements in law of more ancient civilizations than Rome, such as the civilization in ancient Mesopotamia. The most significant feature of the ancient people of Mesopotamia is their respect and reverence for the laws. It is unlikely that the great king Hammurabi invented his laws himself. He certainly drew on the knowledge and experience of his predecessors and contemporaries, who laid the foundation of law. The text of the laws of Hammurabi was found at the beginning of the twentieth century. The laws date back to the first half of the 18th century BC. The collection of legal norms of the wise statesman Hammurabi contains 260 paragraphs, from various branches of law: Administration of justice and punishments, crimes against the person and property, marriage contracts and claims, etc. For the first time in these laws, concepts such as claim, lawsuit, trial, verdict, court decision, marriage contract, etc. are also found. The punishments provided for in Hammurabi’s laws are extremely severe – in addition to fines and compensation, they also include gouging out an eye, breaking a limb, knocking out a tooth, and killing. His goal is to “eradicate evil and corruption from his lands”, “in order to establish true prosperity and good governance in the country...”.

European Investigation Order and Joint Investigation Team

2025-10-13T09:39:23+00:00

The present work is a comparative analysis between the EIO and the JIT, which is valuable from a theoretical point of view. Understanding the legal nature and functions of the EIO and the JIT – their points of contact, strengths and weaknesses – is essential for creating a clearer vision of the current legal mechanisms for international cooperation in criminal matters. Such an analysis puts one of the missing pieces in the puzzle of an otherwise complex picture of international legal cooperation. Although there are still uncertainties among practitioners as to when and which is the most appropriate instrument to resort to when in need of assistance from another state, the regulations created in the last two decades of new and modern instruments in the field are definitely a step forward in clarifying the overall situation.

Editorial

2025-10-13T09:43:40+00:00