Bulgarian Magistrate Competition Exam cheat sheet

The Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria was adopted on 12 July 1991 by the Grand National Assembly; it has been amended in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2015.

Article 1(1) declares Bulgaria a republic with parliamentary government; Article 1(3) makes the Constitution the supreme law and bars any treaty or statute contrary to it.

The National Assembly has 240 members elected for a four-year term by proportional representation in 31 multi-member constituencies, subject to a 4% national threshold.

Article 5(4): international treaties ratified by the National Assembly and published in the State Gazette prevail over conflicting domestic statute.

The Constitutional Court has 12 justices (four each appointed by the National Assembly, the President and the joint bench of the Supreme Court of Cassation and Supreme Administrative Court) for nine-year, non-renewable terms.

Constitutional review is abstract and post-promulgation; the Court may also rule on the constitutionality of political parties, the legality of elections, and the impeachment of the President.

Fundamental rights may be restricted only by statute, only for the purposes enumerated in Article 57(1), and never so as to extinguish the right itself.

The President is head of state elected for five years by direct vote; a veto is suspensive and is overridden by an absolute majority of all 240 MPs.

Legal capacity (правоспособност) arises at birth and ends at death; delictual capacity requires age 14 for tortious liability and age 18 for full contractual capacity.

Prescription (давност): general five-year period under Article 110 of the Obligations and Contracts Act; three years for periodic payments; ten years for some claims; maximum 20 years.

Acquisitive prescription for immovables requires ten years with just title and good faith, or 20 years without; movables require five years.

Civil Procedure Code (2007) governs first instance at district or regional courts; regional courts hear small claims and specified matters, district courts hear larger and non-pecuniary matters.

Appeal (въззивно производство) lies to the higher court within one month of service of judgment; cassation appeal (касационно) lies to the Supreme Court of Cassation within one month.

Interim measures (обезпечителни мерки) require a plausible claim and risk of frustration; security may be ordered by the court.

Res judicata (пресъдено нещо) attaches to the operative part of the judgment and binds parties and their successors; third-party effect requires statutory basis.

Service of process is formally regulated: personal service, substituted service, and service by publication are the only valid modes.

Criminal liability under Article 11 of the Criminal Code requires an act, unlawfulness, culpability and a statutory definition; actus reus and mens rea must both be present.

Criminal responsibility begins at 14 for enumerated serious offences; minors aged 14-18 receive reduced penalties under Article 63.

Statutory limitation for prosecution runs from 20 years for offences punishable by more than ten years' imprisonment down to two years for minor offences (Article 80).

Pre-trial proceedings are conducted by an investigating authority under prosecutorial supervision; the prosecutor decides on indictment.

Coercive measures include detention (задържане up to 72 hours), remand in custody (мярка за неотклонение), bail, and house arrest; judicial review of detention is mandatory.

The Criminal Procedure Code (2006) requires charges to be brought within the statutory framework; the accused must be informed of the charge and have counsel.

Trial is adversarial; the court is bound by the charge but may reclassify; appeal is by right and cassation review lies to the Supreme Court of Cassation on points of law.

Ne bis in idem bars double prosecution for the same act; extradition and European arrest warrant surrender are subject to statutory exceptions.

The Administrative Procedure Code (2006) governs individual administrative acts, general administrative acts, and administrative contracts.

An individual administrative act must be issued by a competent authority, in the prescribed form, for a lawful purpose, and with reasons; defects render it void or voidable.

Administrative appeal (обжалване по административен ред) is available within 14 days to the superior authority where statute provides; judicial appeal lies to the administrative court within 14 days of notification.

The Administrative Court (АДС) at first instance and the Supreme Administrative Court (ВАС) on cassation exercise judicial review of legality, not expediency.

Grounds for annulment: lack of competence, material breach of procedural rules, material breach of substantive law, and inconsistency with the purpose of the law.

Silence of the administration is deemed refusal after the statutory period expires, and is appealable as such.

Enforcement of administrative acts is suspended by a pending appeal only where the court so orders on security.

The Administrative Procedure Code applies subsidiarily to tax, customs and social-security proceedings where sectoral statutes are silent.

The Commercial Act (1991) recognises sole trader, general partnership (събирателно дружество), limited partnership, limited liability company (ООД), joint-stock company (АД), and European company forms.

An LLC requires minimum capital of BGN 2; a joint-stock company requires BGN 50,000, of which at least 25% must be paid up at registration.

A joint-stock company may be public or private; public companies are subject to the Public Offering of Securities Act and Financial Supervision Commission oversight.

Commercial register (Търговски регистър) entry is constitutive for companies and has declaratory effect for sole traders; registration is by application to the Registry Agency.

A commercial transaction is one concluded by a trader in the course of business; commercial transactions attract statutory interest and specific limitation rules.

Insolvency proceedings (производство по несъстоятелност) open with a court decision, followed by a creditors' meeting and either rehabilitation or liquidation.

Company managers (управители) owe fiduciary duties; transactions with related parties require disclosure and, in some cases, general meeting approval.

Merger, division, transformation and change of legal form are governed by the Commercial Act and require registration and creditor protection.

The Labour Code (1986, as amended) governs individual and collective employment relations; the employment contract may be fixed-term only in enumerated cases.

Probation (изпитателен срок) may not exceed six months; for fixed-term contracts it may not exceed one-third of the term.

Working time is normally 40 hours per week and eight hours per day; overtime is limited to 150 hours per year absent collective agreement.

Annual paid leave is at least 20 working days; additional leave is granted for hazardous work, length of service and specific categories.

Dismissal requires a lawful ground, written notice and, where applicable, prior consent of the trade union or the labour inspectorate.

Severance pay on dismissal without cause equals at least one gross monthly wage; on retirement it is at least two months' wages.

Social security comprises state social insurance (pensions, sickness, maternity, unemployment) and supplementary mandatory pension insurance.

Labour disputes are heard by the labour courts; the Labour Inspectorate exercises administrative control and may impose sanctions.

Marriage requires mutual consent, minimum age 18 (16 with court permission), absence of a prior subsisting marriage, and no prohibited kinship.

Matrimonial property is community property (общност) by default; separate property and personal property are defined by the Family Code.

Divorce may be by mutual consent or by fault-based petition; the court must attempt reconciliation where minor children are involved.

Parental rights and obligations are exercised jointly; the child's best interests are the paramount consideration in custody decisions.

Adoption requires consent of the parents or a competent authority, a minimum age difference of 15 years, and court approval.

Intestate succession classes: children, then parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents; the surviving spouse takes alongside them.

A will may be holographic, notarial, or by public act; a reserved share (запазена част) protects forced heirs: children and spouse take one-half, parents one-third.

Inheritance is acquired by acceptance; a beneficiary may accept with benefit of inventory to limit liability for the deceased's debts.

Ownership is the fullest right over a thing, subject only to statutory limitations; it may be acquired by contract, prescription, accession, specification, or inheritance.

Possession in good faith plus just title creates a presumption of ownership; acquisitive prescription periods are 10 years for immovables and 5 years for movables.

Co-ownership is governed by the Ownership Act; a co-owner may demand partition; right of first refusal applies to sales of shares.

Easements, usufruct, use, habitation and building rights are limited real rights created by contract or by law and registrable in the Property Register.

An obligation requires a valid cause, capacity, and lawful object; contracts are formed by offer and acceptance and bind the parties.

Default interest accrues at the statutory rate (base rate plus eight points) on monetary debts; penalty clauses are subject to judicial reduction.

Non-performance gives rise to damages, specific performance, or rescission; force majeure excludes liability where causation is broken.

Assignment of claims, delegation, and set-off are the principal modes of transfer and extinction of obligations.

The judiciary comprises courts and prosecutors' offices; the Supreme Judicial Council (ВСС) is the governing body with 25 members.

The Supreme Judicial Council is composed of 11 members elected by the National Assembly and 11 by the judiciary, plus the chairpersons of the two supreme courts and the Prosecutor General ex officio.

Judges, prosecutors and investigating magistrates are appointed, promoted, transferred and dismissed by the Supreme Judicial Council; appointment is irrevocable except by statute.

The Judicial System Act (2007) regulates careers; initial appointment is to junior judge/prosecutor posts following a competitive examination and internship.

Immunity: magistrates may not be held criminally liable except with consent of the Supreme Judicial Council or in flagrante delicto.

Incompatibilities include political party membership, commercial activity, and any employment other than academic or scientific work.

The Inspectorate to the Supreme Judicial Council inspects courts and prosecutors' offices and reports on integrity and case management.

Court administration is headed by a chairperson elected by the general assembly of the court for a five-year term.

Direct effect: regulations are directly applicable; directives bind Member States as to result and may have direct effect if clear, unconditional and unimplemented.

Supremacy of EU law over national law was established in Costa v ENEL; national courts must disapply conflicting national provisions.

Preliminary reference under Article 267 TFEU: any court may refer; courts of last instance must refer unless the question is acte clair or acte éclairé.

State liability for breach of EU law requires a sufficiently serious breach, damage, and causal link (Francovich, Brasserie du Pêcheur).

European arrest warrant (Framework Decision 2002/584) operates on mutual recognition; surrender may be refused on enumerated mandatory or optional grounds.

Brussels I bis (Regulation 1215/2012) governs jurisdiction and enforcement in civil and commercial matters; domicile is the primary connecting factor.

Rome I and Rome II determine applicable law in contractual and non-contractual obligations respectively.

Service of documents and taking of evidence abroad are governed by Regulation 2020/1783 and the Hague Service Convention.