The Civil Procedure Code is a key tool to implement the judicial reform, said Danail Kirilov, Chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, at the opening of the scientific and practical conference entitled “Legal Issues in the Implementation of the Civil Procedure Code. Possible solutions”. The two-day event was organized by the Supreme Bar Council and is held under the auspices of the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee.

Danail Kirilov emphasised that civil law is one of the most complicated branches of law and that is why the MPs have been hesitant to make final decisions on important issues in three consecutive legislative procedures. This results from our understanding that the amendments to the Civil Procedure Code should not be an end in itself, partial and one-sided, but need to be in line with the most recent developments in legal theory and practice and the thorny issues related to law enforcement in the civil procedure, he said. The Chair of the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee thanked the organisers from the Supreme Bar Council, the initiator of the conference, Krasimir Vlahov, Vice President of the Supreme Court of Cassation, and all lawyers who will contribute with their expert opinion to finding the best solutions in this area of law.

We all want a judicial reform that will make justice easier to access, fast, transparent and predictable, said Ralitsa Negentsova, President of the Supreme Bar Council, at the opening of the event. She emphasised that the Civil Procedure Code is the means to achieve this goal, and the conference provides an opportunity to hear the opinions of all legal professions, to coordinate experience, the most recent developments in theory and the extensive practice. We need to outline the philosophy of change and propose possible successful solutions to the legislator, said Ralitsa Negentsova.

The Minister of Justice, Tsetska Tsacheva, said that lawyers from different professions yet related to the implementation of or the amendments to the Civil Procedure Code should plan for the short term and also conceptualise in the long term the development of the civil procedure science.  A common opinion on different issues will provide a sound foundation that will serve as a starting point in the work of the parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee, she added.

It is 10 years this year since the adoption of the current Civil Procedure Code. This period of time is long enough to analyse and assess its impact on the legal environment in Bulgaria, said Vala Gigova, a lawyer, at the beginning of the conference. In her words, the event aims at providing a detailed analysis, establishing the gaps and deficiencies in the regulation and proposing changes to ensure a more balanced and fair civil procedure.

Dr Ivailo Kostov, lecturer at Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski”, Associate Professor Tanya Gradinarova, lecturer at the University for National and World Economy, Georgi Atanasov, a lawyer, Professor Aneliya Mingova, lecturer at Sofia University, Daria Prodanova and Krasimir Vlahov, Vice Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation, and Kina Chuturkova and Ivan Georgiev, lawyers, will speak in the first part of the conference on issues related to claim proceedings.

The two-day event will be attended by members of the Legal Affairs Committee at the National Assembly, judges, lawyers, representatives of the institutions and experts on civil law.