Bulgarian Magistrate Competition Exam flashcards

31 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Constitution supremacy clause

Article 1(3) of the 1991 Bulgarian Constitution provides that the Constitution is the supreme law and that no statute or treaty may contradict it; conflicting acts are void.

Constitutional Court composition

Twelve justices serving nine-year non-renewable terms: four elected by the National Assembly, four appointed by the President, and four elected by the joint bench of the two supreme courts.

Suspensive presidential veto

Under Article 101 the President may return a bill to the National Assembly with reasons; the veto is overridden by an absolute majority of all 240 members and the law is then promulgated.

General prescription period

Article 110 of the Obligations and Contracts Act sets a five-year limitation period for most civil claims; three years applies to periodic payments and ten years to certain other claims.

Acquisitive prescription immovables

Ownership of an immovable is acquired by ten years' adverse possession with just title and good faith, or twenty years without title or good faith, under the Ownership Act.

Res judicata in civil procedure

The final judgment binds the parties and their successors as to the rights declared in the operative part; relitigation of the same claim between the same parties is barred.

Interim measures civil procedure

Article 389 et seq. of the Civil Procedure Code permit the court to order protective measures when a claim is plausible and enforcement is at risk, usually against security.

Criminal responsibility age

Under Article 31 of the Criminal Code criminal responsibility begins at 14 for enumerated serious offences and at 18 for full responsibility; minors receive reduced penalties.

Statutory limitation prosecution

Article 80 of the Criminal Code bars prosecution after periods ranging from twenty years for offences punishable by more than ten years to two years for minor offences.

Remand in custody review

Detention on remand is ordered by the court and must be reviewed periodically; the accused may appeal the measure, and release is mandatory when statutory grounds lapse.

Ne bis in idem criminal

Article 4 of Protocol 7 ECHR and Article 24 of the Criminal Procedure Code bar a second prosecution or punishment for an offence for which a final acquittal or conviction exists.

Individual administrative act

A unilateral authoritative decision by an administrative authority creating, modifying or extinguishing rights or obligations of an identified addressee; it must be competent, reasoned and lawful.

Administrative appeal deadline

Where a statute provides administrative appeal, it must be lodged within fourteen days of notification with the superior authority; judicial appeal to the administrative court follows the same period.

Grounds for annulment

Administrative courts annul acts for lack of competence, material procedural breach, material breach of substantive law, or inconsistency with the statutory purpose, per the Administrative Procedure Code.

Administrative silence

Failure of an authority to decide within the statutory period is deemed a refusal, which is appealable; a positive silence rule applies only where statute expressly so provides.

LLC minimum capital

A limited liability company under the Commercial Act requires minimum capital of two Bulgarian leva, fully paid before registration, with each partner holding at least one share.

Joint-stock company capital

A joint-stock company requires a minimum capital of fifty thousand leva, of which at least twenty-five per cent must be paid up at the time of registration.

Commercial register effect

Entry in the Commercial Register is constitutive for companies and branches, and declaratory for sole traders; third parties may rely on registered facts once published.

Probation period limit

Under Article 70 of the Labour Code a probation clause may not exceed six months; for fixed-term contracts it may not exceed one-third of the agreed term.

Annual paid leave

Article 155 of the Labour Code guarantees at least twenty working days of paid annual leave, with additional leave for hazardous work, long service and specific categories.

Severance on dismissal

Dismissal without lawful cause entitles the employee to compensation of at least one gross monthly wage; on retirement the minimum is two gross monthly wages.

Overtime limits

Overtime is capped at 150 hours per calendar year absent a collective agreement; daily overtime may not exceed four hours and must be compensated or time-offset.

Reserved share inheritance

Forced heirs - children and the surviving spouse - are entitled to one-half of the estate, and parents to one-third, free of contrary testamentary dispositions.

Intestate succession order

Succession proceeds by class: children first, then parents, then siblings and their descendants, then grandparents, with the surviving spouse taking alongside the applicable class.

Acceptance with inventory

An heir may accept an inheritance with benefit of inventory, limiting liability for the deceased's debts to the value of the inherited assets and shielding personal property.

Limited real rights

Easements, usufruct, use, habitation and building rights are rights over another's property created by contract or statute and registrable in the Property Register.

Statutory default interest

Monetary debts in default accrue interest at the Bulgarian National Bank base rate plus eight percentage points, calculated from the date performance became due.

Supreme Judicial Council

The twenty-five-member body governing the judiciary: eleven elected by the National Assembly, eleven by the judiciary, plus the chairs of the two supreme courts and the Prosecutor General.

Judicial immunity

Magistrates may not be criminally prosecuted without consent of the Supreme Judicial Council, except when caught in flagrante delicto; detention requires Council authorization.

Preliminary reference Article 267

Courts of last instance must refer questions on EU law interpretation or validity to the Court of Justice unless acte clair or acte éclairé applies; lower courts may refer.

European arrest warrant

A judicial decision issued by a Member State for arrest and surrender of a requested person; execution may be refused only on the mandatory and optional grounds listed in the Framework Decision.