Law Journal of New Bulgarian University

Editorial

Editorial Board — 2023-07-03

Editorial Board — 2022-07-03

Administrative Justice Days at New Bulgarian University

Raina Nikolova — 2023-07-03

The focus of the training practice “Administrative Justice Days at New Bulgarian University” in the autumn semester of the academic year 2022/2023 was directed to events of practical nature accompanying the theoretical training. The occasion was the celebration of the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Republic of Bulgaria and the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the 28 administrative courts in Bulgaria. The following events took place: 3 public lectures on administrative justice, a discussion on the introduction of mediation in the administrative judicial process, a competition on tax law and tax process, a simulation administrative process, a training on administrative justice in the field of industrial property, a student round table. The invitation of the New Bulgarian University to participate in the event was honoured by prominent representatives of judicial practice and authorities in the field of administrative justice.

Decisions related to binding information issued under the Union Customs Code

Atanas Simeonov — 2023-07-03

The research covers the issues related to the procedure for issuing decisions concerning binding information by the customs authorities of the Member States in the European Union. There is currently no in-depth elaboration on these issues. The legal framework is new and the practice of the administrative authorities competent to issue acts implementing the customs legislation reveals uncertainty and not yet good knowledge of it, which undoubtedly leads to contradictions in the judicial resolution of legal disputes. The study is part of a larger study related to the administrative services provided by the customs administrations of the EU Member States and aims to clarify and analyse the issues at stake.

Law and logic: A deductive criterion for determination of truth value of evidence in civil and administrative procedures – Part I

Emilian Paskalev — 2023-07-03

The study examines the possibility of applying a deductive logical criterion for determination of the truth value of evidence in civil and administrative procedures. Part I points out types of evidence and facts with ex lege definite truth value according to current legislation in Bulgaria. It reviews the opportunity evidence without such ex lege definite truth value to be subjected to verification using the proposed deductive criterion. It is also argued that in the criterion’s application as premises evidence and facts with ex lege definite truth value should be involved in order to guarantee the truth value of the conclusions. The study provides a detailed review of the propositional logic apparatus involved. Part II reviews the deductive method applied – the method of natural deduction. The application of the deductive criterion in determining the truth value of evidence in an example from legal practice is also shown. At the end the method of natural deduction is applied to a particular kind of proof – based only on circumstantial evidence with ex lege definite truth value. The study concludes with summary of the advantages and limitations of the application of the deductive criterion, some new areas of application of deductive logic in civil procedure are reviewed and some open research issues are pointed.

Specific rights and needs for protection of the victims of crime in relation to their participation in criminal proceedings

Elena Nedyalkova — 2023-07-03

The article explores procedural remedies and measures for protecting the rights and legitimate interests of victims of crimes based on Bulgarian and international legislation. The possibility of issuing an European protection order has been also analyzed.

Persons who may act as attorney and grounds for impeachment of the attorney

Pavel Smolichki — 2023-07-03

The judicial system is called upon to ensure the resolution of conflicts in society. The results of this system depend to a large extent on the effective participation of citizens defending their personal rights and interests in specific cases. At the same time, the constant development of society requires the evolution of its most important social regulator – the law, whose changes quite naturally affect the functioning of the judicial system itself. This leads to the conclusion that a good knowledge of the ever-changing legal framework is a prerequisite for citizens’ full participation in the process. The institution of the attorney has long existed in Bulgarian criminal procedure and has been adopted from Russian law. However, it is a subject of relatively low research interest. This could be explained, on the one hand, by the fact that the attorney performs an auxiliary role in the performance of functions in criminal proceedings. Also, the participation of the attorney in the criminal proceedings in a large number of cases is related to the implementation of additional, atypical functions for the criminal proceedings – those of bringing and substantiating the civil action and its defence. However, the very fact of its invariable existence throughout the history of our criminal procedure law is indicative of its essential role in achieving the objectives of the state’s criminal policy and ensuring the public interest in this respect. The present study identifies the persons who may be attorneys under Bulgarian criminal procedure law. The grounds for dismissal of the attorney are also examined.

What is the deadline in accordance with the Constitution by which the President must appoint to а Prime-minister candidate a mandate for formation of a regular Government

Peter Slavov — 2023-07-03

This article provides an analysis of case with the possible delay of the deadline within which the President of the Republic is obliged to appoint a mandate for formation of a Government as to art. 99. There is no explicit deadline in the Constitution, by which the latter must appoint the mandate, as e.g. he is obliged by art. 75 to convene the newly elected Parliament within 1-month-term. The case is especially important as there is no practice of the Constitutional Court on this matter, while there are quite a few rulings on the other aspects of art. 99 and the applicable terms after the first mandate has been appointed. While there are also some gaps in the constitutional framework, the Constitutional Court has adopted the term “reasonable term”, beyond which any delay shall be in contradiction with the Constitution. Precisely this “reasonability” in the context of appointing the first mandate will be analysed, in the context of the entire constitutional regulation of art. 99 for forming a regular Government but also in the spirit of a parliamentary Republic.

Compulsory enforcement over LLC share in the liquidation or insolvency proceeding

Nikolay Pavlevchev — 2023-07-03

The current legal framework of the LLC provides the principle of vinculation of the shares. In that case the compulsory enforcement over LLC share is initially excluded because the lack of consent of the company to accept a new member cannot be overcome. In case of bankruptcy the participation shall be terminated (art. 125, para. 1, item 4 of the Commercial Act). At the same time, the bankruptcy legislator regulates a method for enforcement over LLC share (art. 718, para. 2 of the Commercial Act). The present article compares the regime for termination of the LLC participation with the regulation of compulsory enforcement over LLC share and reaches at the conclusion that such enforcement de lege lata is not possible.

Typical methods of collecting evidence in the investigation of crimes against civil equality

Tihomir Troyanov — 2023-07-03

The article examines the typical methods of investigating crimes against the equality of citizens, identifying the most frequently collected evidence to clarify the circumstances of the case, related to this legal qualification.

Undercover investigation

Atanas Brandev — 2023-07-03

The use of the method of investigating and documenting criminal activity through undercover officers is a new method aimed at actively countering organized crime. The method is still not widely used in the Republic of Bulgaria.

Tax reliefs for young families and for children

Marina Tsvetanova — 2023-07-03

The article examines the tax reliefs related to families and parents in the Bulgarian national legal system as the only tax policy measures for rising the birth rate, stimulating people to get married and for a more equal income distribution within this group of taxpayers. As a comparison the article presents the German family income tax system with the tax brackets.