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Recognition of foreign judgments

One of the core consequences of globalisation has been the rapid increase in trans-national litigation and the associated need to enforce judgments across national borders. Recognition and enforcement of foreign countries’ court decisions in another country has always been a delicate and difficult issue.

It is known that the system does not have a universal rule and each country adopts its own valued judgment with regard to foreign decisions.

There is also a clear and relatively easy procedure for the enforcement of judgments and other acts passed in other EU Member States.

The Civil process Code does not contain provisions on recognition and enforcement of decisions and acts of countries other than EU Member States.

The Regulation

Recognition and enforcement of judgments rendered in non-EU countries should be subject to different procedures under the Code of international private law act.

According to part four of the CMR, the conditions introduced in Art. 117 The Code of international private law act for recognition and enforcement is as follows:

The decisions and acts of foreign courts and other bodies are recognized when:

– the foreign court or authority was competent under the provisions of Bulgarian law:
– the defendant was served with a copy of the application, the parties were regularly summoned and the basic principles of Bulgarian law related to the defense were not violated ;
– if between the same parties, on the same grounds and for the same request, no decision of a Bulgarian court has entered into force;
– if there is no pending trial between the same parties, on the same grounds and for the same claim, before a Bulgarian court
– recognition or admission of performance is not contrary to the Bulgarian public order.

Legal frame of recognition of foreign judgments

The Recognition of foreign Judgments is made by the body before it.

In the event of a dispute over the conditions for recognition of the foreign judgment, a settlement action may be brought before the Sofia City Court.

A claim is made before the Sofia City Court to allow enforcement of a foreign judgment.

The application shall be accompanied by a copy of the decision certified by the court which issued it and a certificate by the same court that the decision has entered into force.

These documents needs to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The court shall examine of its own motion the conditions under Art. 117.

The defendant in the procedure for recognition and enforcement of the foreign decision can not invoke violations under Art. 117, item 2, which he could have pointed out before the foreign court.

The court does not go into the examination of the substance of the dispute, resolved by the foreign court.

The debtor may object to the discharge of the obligation on the basis of circumstances that have arisen after the entry into force of the foreign decision.

The debtor may not object to the discharge of the obligation on the basis of the circumstances after the enforcement decision has entered into force.

Regarding the recognition of the consequences of foreign enforcement and security acts – the regulation is in Art. 124 International law act in Bulgaria-

If there is a claim before a Bulgarian court for the recognition of a judgment given in a non-EU country and there are no other international instruments in the field of family law that have been signed and ratified by both countries.

The foreign state at the same time as the CPC does not contain provisions on recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments other than EU Member States, the recognition procedure will be Part Four of the CMR, considering the legal conditions under Art. 117 KMCP.

The court procedure in Bulgaria

A decision certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria must be submitted to the court, that it is apparent that the same has entered into force.

After assessing the conditions under Art. 117 CMMR and to check whether it is contrary to the Bulgarian public order, the court decides whether it admits or not.

It is important to note that, according to the provision of Art. 121 para. 1 Code international private law act, the court in the exequatur procedure does not examine the merits of the dispute.

May 4, 2019/by lawyer

Legal advices, Uncategorized

Getting enforcement letter Bulgaria

Procedure for issuing an order for payment

The order for payment procedure is a court procedure that is used to simplify the enforcement of monetary claims and the restitution of property.

Its object is obtaining of a writ of execution without a legal trial.

The fees for initiating the procedure for issuance of an order for payment amount to 2 % (two percent) of the value of the claim.

In addition, the claimant could incur some expenses for attorney’s fees, which depend on the value of the claim.

If the debtor raises objections against the issued order for payment and a trial begins. Getting enforcement letter Bulgaria

If the debtor fails to raise objections, a writ of execution shall be issued in favor of the claimant and on its grounds an enforcement procedure begins, the additional costs of 2 %

The procedure of getting enforcement letter Bulgaria…

Under the current Civic code, and in particular the provisions of Art. 410 and Art. 417 CC, anyone can ask the district court to issue an enforcement order.

The order of execution is valid ground for issuing a writt of enforcement letter.

In this sense, the enforcement order replaces the judgment as such.

The purpose of this commandment is a quick, surprising and more economical process.

This in practice means that the claim can be based on almost any basis – a contract of employment, a rent contract, a loan contract, and any kind of bonding relationship in general.

The proceedings shall begin with an application by the applicant (the creditor) to the district court under the common local jurisdiction – at the permanent address of the debtor.

The District Court examines the application by verifying its regularity and the admissibility of the proceedings.

The applicant must also reflect the basis on which he refers for his affection. Getting enforcement letter Bulgaria

This practice may be a contract or other documents showing that the claimant has one claim from a creditor.

In turn, the debtor may object to the warrant issued within 14 days, which in any way has no evidential value for the existence of the claim up to that point.

It becomes the enforceable ground on which to issue a writ of execution in order to initiate enforcement proceedings against the debtor.

Of course, he may also voluntarily pay his debt if he acknowledges it within the same 14-day period following the receipt of the order.

If, however, he objects to the general claiming process, the claimant in the order for the proceedings has a one-month term from contesting the claim in which he can file a claim with the same court.

July 16, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices, News, Personal

Documents transfer of property

Our clients choose us because they know we understand their objectives and offer them legal support by getting the documents transfer of property.

We regularly handle transactions for the world’s leading investment banks, private equity funds, hedge funds, pension funds, REITs and sovereign wealth funds.

Increasingly they are cross border, highly structured and involve sophisticated financing arrangements.

We support our clients in their most important real estate projects on an international basis.

1. Property title documents transfer of property

Most frequent documents of ownership:

• Title Deed, registered with the Registry Agency – title deed for purchase and sale, title deed for donation, title deed for exchange, notarized statement of ascertainment;

• Deed with registration records;

• Sales Agreement executed under the Ordinance on State-Owned Properties;

• Sales Agreement, executed under the Municipal Property Act and the State-Owned Public or Municipal Real Estate Act.

2. Property Tax Evaluation Certificate – issued by the local tax office at the property domicile.

The Property Tax Evaluation Certificate has to contain an address identical to the address of the property as per the title deed.

Property co-owners may not have any outstanding debts concerning the property, which shall be indicated in the Property Tax Evaluation Certificate.

3. Certificate of Marital Status of the seller(s), indicating the marital status of all owners as of the date of acquisition of the property.

4. Marriage Certificate of the seller, if applicable.

5. This property is not acquired as marital property, it shall not be considered matrimonial property community;

6. The property has any real rights registered, in order to execute the sale transaction, the user shall abandon all the real rights, established in their favour.

The waiver has to be signed in the presence of a Notary Public and shall be registered with the Notary Public’s file.

7. In case the property is subject to partition – the document in question (contract, ruling), registered with the Registry Agency.

8. Plan of the plot, in case of transfer of land (land plot, yard or part of yard, where the property/apartment is built).

9. In case the property has been received as inheritance

10. If the seller is divorced, the court ruling dissolving the marriage in divorce shall be presented.

11. Specific cases require different documents, which follow the property history and proves the title of ownership.

12. Certificate of Burdens for the property – to be issued by the Registry Agency

13. In case the seller is unable to perform the transaction personally, he needs to appoint another person with a Power of Attorney.

This Power of Attorney shall be notarized, and both the signatures affixed and the content of this Power of Attorney shall be certified.

14.A declaration under article 25, paragraph 7 of the Notaries and Notary Practices Acts and a declaration under article 264, paragraph 1 Tax Code

15. An identity document, which confirms the identity of both the buyer and the seller

16. In case the transaction refers to transferring developed buildings – the respective documents issued by the builder/investor

17. Other documents, according to the specifics of the transaction.

Due to the diversity of documents possible, we recommend that the documents under this transaction be checked by a lawyer.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices, News, Personal

Registration of a branch

The dynamics of modern business relations can easy switch to another country of doing business in different settlements by registration of a branch.

If you have such a need, you are generally faced with three options for doing business:

A) register individual “subsidiaries” of trading companies and through them to carry out your business.

With this option new companies are emerging and they have separate business enterprises.

The common between them is in the owner who owns them, but in the case of third parties they are completely independent subjects;

B) to disclose retail outlets (warehouses, shops, etc.) in the different settlements, without creating new companies and operating in them.

In this situation, no new legal entity emerges – a company, the trader himself engages in legal relationships with third parties.

B) register a branch through which to separate the performance of part of your activity in a settlement other than that in which your company has its registered office.

The branch is a legal-organizational form for carrying out a business activity in which a trader (firm), through a relative separation of part of its activity, carries it out in a settlement other than that in which its seat is located.

In the internal relations, the branch is dependent on the trader and this dependence is manifested in different directions, for example in:

A) the lack of an independent firm, and the branch company includes the trader’s firm and the branch add-on;

(B) the branch is part of the trader’s business (and, if transferred, the branch is transferred).

In disputes arising out of a direct relationship with a branch, claims are brought against the firm (as may be done at the headquarters of the branch);

B) the termination of the trader also leads to the termination of the branch (the same applies when the bankruptcy is declared);

D) the branch does not compile a stand-alone balance – the branch leads commercial books as a sole trader without compiling a separate balance sheet.

Registration of a branch

Branch registration is the result of the following procedure, which includes:

1. decision on the establishment of a branch;

2. election of a branch manager;

3. Entry in the Commercial Register (TP).

The decision to register a branch is taken by the competent corporate body under the rules of the relevant commercial company:

The decision should contain a clear intention to establish a branch and its headquarters, address of management, subject of activity, manner of management.

Setting up a Bulgarian branch by a foreign company is one of the legal forms for establishment of a business presence in Bulgaria.

Usually the branch office is considered to be an alternative to being a (sole) shareholder of a Bulgarian company.

The Bulgarian branch office is not a separate legal entity but a part of the foreign company.Registration of a branch

As a result, share capital of the branch is not required and the foreign company is liable for the liabilities incurred by the branch.

Legal Representative of the Bulgarian Branch

Though the Bulgarian branch office is not a separate legal entity and appointment of a director is not required, the authorization of a legal representative of the branch is mandatory.

The representative powers of the legal representative are determined by a power of attorney granted to him by the foreign company.

Registration with the Bulgarian Commercial Register

Under Bulgarian legislation branches are required to be registered with the Bulgarian Commercial Register. The necessary documents to register a branch in Bulgaria include:

official certificate of good standing of the foreign company;

official incumbency certificate containing the particulars of the persons authorized to represent the foreign company and their representative powers (if not contained in the certificate of good standing);

resolution of the foreign company to establish a branch in Bulgaria (the persons competent to adopt such a resolution are determined by the national corporate law of the foreign company);

constituent act/articles of association of the foreign company;

notarized power of attorney granted to the legal representative of the Bulgarian branch;

notarized written consent and specimen signature of the legal representative of the Bulgarian branch;

declaration under art.13, para. 4 of the Bulgarian Commercial Register Act.

Accounting

Under the Bulgarian Commerce Act following the successful branch office registration, the branch is required to maintain its own bookkeeping as well as to prepare a balance sheet.

Taxation

Under the Bulgarian tax legislation the profit generated by a foreign company’s branch established in Bulgaria is subject to corporate income tax.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Changing manager LLC Bulgaria

Change in the manner of management and representation or change of the person (s) representing the company

A change in the management of a company may occur when two or more persons are elected in the place of a manager to represent and manage the company together or separately, as well as the appointment of a procurator.

I. In the Commercial Law an option is provided by the manager of the company aloneto request it to be removed from the Commercial Register by giving written notice to the company.

Within one month of receipt of the notification, the company must declare its release in the Commercial Register for entry.

If the company does not do so, the manager may himself file for registration the fact that is entered, whether or not another person is elected in his place. In a nutshell, in order for the manager or the liquidator to declare the deletion alone, the law provided for the existence of two prerequisites – the manager / liquidator / requested the deletion by written notification to the company and the company had not declared its deletion in within one month of receipt of the notification.

The second and more frequent reason for change of manager in OOD is

Election of a new governor after the expiry of the mandate of the old governor or
Withdrawal of the manager’s authorization at any time during his term of office,
Resignition of the manager.

Empowerment of the manager may be withdrawn at any time and his name deleted from the commercial register.

The freedom of the general assembly to free the governor at any time, respectively to elect a new governor, is imperatively regulated by the legislator, and it results from the free withdrawal of empowerment (including empowerment).

There is a complete correspondence between the possibility of the general meeting of the company to withdraw the authorization of the manager / for the dismissal of the manager / as provided in Art. 141, para. 5 of the Commercial Act, the unilateral withdrawal of the manager, with a written notification to the company. The possibility of a free change of the manager is related to the fact that the legislator did not introduce grounds for the dismissal of the manager.

Even in cases where such a foundation is provided in the company agreement, they could not overcome imperatively the art. 141, para. 4 of the CG freedom of the General Assembly to withdraw the authorization, but such grounds would have significance in the search of the manager’s responsibility.

The change of the manager of the company should be entered in the Commercial Register.

Upon the change of the current manager, it is necessary to conclude a new written contract for the assignment of the management on behalf of the company, also the general meeting must take a decision to amend the company contract if the management and representation of the company change are the essential elements of the contract.

This decision must be taken by a majority of more than three-quarters of the capital unless a majority of the company’s agreement is provided.

The decision shall be drawn up with a notary authentication of the signatures and the contents made at the same time, unless a written agreement is provided in the Articles of Association.

The decision shall be entered in the record book. In LLC, a change in the way of management most often means assigning the management of EOOD to a procurator, but it is possible to appoint a governor if the constitutive act does not exclude the possibility of appointing a third party manager.

The procedure for entry in the Commercial Register and the register of non-profit legal entities lasts three working days.

Our legal services includes:

1. Drafting & preparation of the necessary documents, according to the requirements of the Commerce Act;

2. Drafting of applications of the Registry Agency – Commercial Register and all other necessary documents;

3. Transfer & payment of Register state fee for recording changes in circumstances;

4. Transfer of all state fee for Commercial Register, bank Fees;

With our service we will save you valuable time, with our knowledge and skills we will complete the entire procedure for you at moderate competitive prices.

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Applying transport licence Bulgaria

Any carrier wishing to carry cargo on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and / or on the territory of the European Union must register a transport company and hold the respective license to carry cargo on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria or a license to carry out international freight transport.

This development concerns the registration of a freight transport company within the European Union (the procedure for registering a freight transport company on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is similar).

This is the issue of a Community license for the international carriage of goods. The procedure for issuing such an international transport license is regulated in ORDINANCE No 11 OF 31 OCTOBER 2002 FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF PASSENGERS AND GOODS .

The state fee for issuing an international license for freight transport from January 1, is 500 leva. The freight license is NOT indefinite! It shall be issued for a period of validity of 10 years, after which it shall be renewable.

1. In order to operate as a freight carrier, you must first register a transport company. It is recommended to be in the form of EOOD or OOD.

The transport activity can be realized with both own and hired heavy trucks, but obligatory with Bulgarian registration.

2. The license of the transport company is issued by the Minister of Transport, Information Technology and Communications on a proposal of the Automobile Administration Executive Agency.

Any transport company applying for a freight license must meet certain specific requirements, namely:

I. REASONABILITY – The requirement of reliability is met when transport managers are not convicted of deliberate crimes of general character under the Penal Code or are not deprived of the right to exercise transport.

II. PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE – The transport manager must have a Certificate of Professional Competence issued by the Automobile Administration Executive Agency or a Certificate of Professional Competence issued by a competent authority of a Member State of the European Union. Note that a person may be the head of the transport activity of no more than two transport companies.

III. FINANCIAL STABILITY – Demonstration of the financial stability of the transport company depends on the number of vehicles with which the transport activity will be carried out. For the first car, the transport company proves that there are resources for carrying out its transport operations, equal to the BGN equivalence of EUR 9,000, and for each subsequent car the BGN equivalence of EUR 5,000. The provision of the above mentioned resources for transport activity is evidenced by the corresponding amount in the capital of the transport company, through bank guarantee and insurance contract.

At the same time, the transport company must have no tax and social security obligations unless it is deferred or deferred under the Tax and Social Insurance Procedure Code, as evidenced by the Certificate for the existence or absence of tax liabilities.

IV. ESTABLISHING THE TERRITORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA – the transport company must have its own or hired operational center, garage area and office.

Compliance with each requirement should be certified by the relevant document. The circumstances declared in the contracts, declarations, etc. are controlled and controlled and checked prior to the license being issued by the licensing authority, so it is advisable to use advisory services to specialists who are familiar with the practical requirements for issuing such a license.

The time limit for the issue or refusal to issue a license for the carriage of goods is 30 calendar days from the date of filing of the application. If there is a document missing or there is an irregularity in the documents submitted, the deadline for their removal is one month after receipt of the instructions from the Ministry. The license is issued in as many copies as the vehicles themselves.

We would like to offr you our legal service as follows :

• Drafting of documents & registration procedure of your new shipping company for you.

• Legal advices to preparation , fill in and submit the necessary documentation for the issuance of an international freight license.

We will save you valuable time with our knowledge and skills to complete the registration process and get a freight license for you at moderate competitive prices. Call us now on `+ 359 897 90 43 91 or send us your mail on оffice@lawyer-bulgaria.bg

June 24, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Open a representation office

Trade representation office

Many of our clients are foreign entities wishing to register a commercial agency or branch office of a foreign legal entity in Bulgaria. In this regard, working as lawyers in commercial cases in Bulgaria, we would like to inform you that all foreign persons engaged in commercial activities may open commercial offices in our country.

According to the Bulgarian laws, trade representation can perform non-profit activities, advertising of goods and services, and more.

Commercial representation of foreign person has got the right to operate an independent business. The regime of any commercial representation of foreign legal entity in Bulgaria is regulated by the Law on Investment Promotion (IPA).

When establishing trade representation of foreign legal entities, they must register in the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). For the establishment of foreign investments under Bulgarian law, in addition to five different companies listed above, the investor may choose one of the following corporate forms:

OPEN a Branch office or
OPEN a trade representation.

A commercial legal entitywhich has got the right to perform commercial activity under its national law, may register a branch in the Commercial Register. The branch is not considered as a separate legal entity. The branch is not required to have any paid up capital or separate governance structure. Its assets and liabilities are considered of the mother company.

Representative Office

Foreign persons authorized to do business under their national law may establish a representative offices in Bulgaria. A representative office is registered at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce. The office is not a separate legal entity and cannot carry on business activity. Thus, the purpose of the representative office is to perform activities such as promotions, exhibitions, demonstrations, training and advertising of products or services.

Registration of a foreign person’s representative office

the legal framework is the Investment Promotion Act, and the competent authority. The registration body is the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Procedure and documents required

Official registration document of the foreign person issued by the relevant competent authority as per its national legislation.
Official document regarding the persons managing and representing the foreign person.
Resolution of the managing body of the foreign person for opening a representative office in Bulgaria.
Special notarized original power of attorney issued by the person(s) representing the company, for the person authorised to register and manage the representative office in Bulgaria. It also is specifying the powers granted to the latter.
Original specimen(s) of the signature(s) of the person(s) being representative(s) in Bulgaria, whether by virtue of law or by special authorisations, certified by a notary public.
Document evidencing payment of the registration fee for the representative office.

Terms of registration

The registration terms are between 1 and 3 days (according to the declared wish and the fee paid).

Procedure for registration of a trade representation office

An applicant can be any resident with the right to conduct business under its national legislation. We can prepare for you all documents necessary for registration of a trade representation of foreign legal entity. Persons who are representatives of foreign commercial companies and have registered trade offices in BCCI can obtain a permit for continuous stay in the country. The term is one year (Art. 24, paragraph 1, p. 6 of the Law on Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria). The actual residence permit may be renewed on the same grounds after the expiry of the prescribed term.

Requirements:

Upon registration of a trade representation, you must have the funds from abroad for its maintenance. This applies also to any proceeds from SSI benefits for workers who are Bulgarian citizens. Since no representation carries on business, commercial offices are not required to file an annual tax return. For the same reason, they do not pay withholding taxes under the Corporate Income Tax Act.

Although not transact business, commercial offices are tax-liable for the social costs of staff employed under an employment contract and management. Regarding the law, transactions and payments made by residents in the country, carried out by commercial representation on his behalf or under the authority of the foreign entity, are considered as accomplished independent economic activity subject to taxation.On the grounds of Article 24, paragraph 1 of the Law on Promotion of Investment, trade represantation of foreign entities offceis are obligated to enter in the Commercial Register of the Chamber of Commerce.

When a foreign person can register as a trade representative in Bulgaria?

As lawyers in commercial matters, we will advise you that this happens when the company has got the right to conduct business, in accordance with the law of the country it had been established in.

Legal aspects in conducting business

Foreign person who has got trade representation in Bulgaria cannot carry out business on his/her behalf. This is because he/she is not a legal entity. Concluded with his/her brokerage transactions are conducted on behalf of the principal (non-resident).

Commercial representation must be recorded in the Unified Commercial Register of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), despite the fact that it is not a legal entity and has got no right to conduct business.

For more information about the types of legal services we offer, please contact us. As for as commercial ajnd compnay lawyer on +359 2/858 10 25, or by e-mail to: info@lawyer-bulgaria.bg.

June 18, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Child maintenance, non-payment, consequences

There were numerous factors that can affect how much child maintenance you should pay or receive and we always advise that you contact us first to discuss your specific circumstances.

You should bear in mind that the child maintenance that is payable differs from country to country and it is quite possible that a claim can be lodged in the country in which the mother or the father or the child lives even if you do not live in the same country. If your family members live in different countries then maybe there is jurisdiction in more than one country.

Bulgarian Family Lawyer, Divorce, Child Maintenance and Custody

family divorce lawyer Bulgaria

Payment of child maintenance is the transfer of funds (money) from one person to another who needs them, and between them there is a family relationship.

The size of mountly payments – child maintenence has been declared and well described in the court desicion for divorce between the parents. Usually the childrens needs to be supprted in a case of divorce.

When someone is ordered to pay maintenance by an enforceable court decision but does not comply with that decision, ie he continues not to pay the maintenance of the person entitled to receive it, this may lead to unfavorable consequences.

One of these consequences is the possibility of an enforcement case being brought against him and the other being a criminal conviction, since the non-payment of maintenance for more than two months is a crime under the Penal Code.

When an enforcement case is instituted, the due date may be collected by compulsion by a state or private enforcement agent. If the debtor fails to pay after being invited to do so voluntarily, the judge may, at the request of the person entitled to maintenance (the claimant in the case), impose a distraint on his remuneration (the employer to withhold his money), the custody of the bank his bills (no money), a car or foreclosure on his real estate (prohibition to sell it), which may be in force until the lifting of the maintenance obligation, which may last for years.

In this case, the unpaid maintenance obligation is supplemented by the fees for initiating the enforcement case, fees for individual enforcement actions, and the amount of lawyer’s fees (the lawyer’s money has been filed and the case has been filed with the bailiff ).

The end result in this case is significantly increasing the cost of the debtor (neplatiliya maintenance ), which may go beyond sheer size of unpaid maintenance.

The non-payment of maintenance may also be due to an objective impossibility on the part of the debtor (illness, lack of work and means) and not to his unwillingness to pay such.

Child maintenance, non-payment, consequences

Where such an impossibility is established in the enforcement case, the payment is made by the State which is a substitute for the person who has been ordered to pay the maintenance, but fails to fulfill that obligation.

Whether or not an enforcement action has been initiated, a pre-trial proceeding may be initiated at the request of the entitled person or his legal representative for a criminal offense of a general nature and an indictment of a prosecutor may be brought before a court for a crime under Art. 183 para. 1 of the Penal Code – non-payment of maintenance for two or more monthly installments.

The punishment that the law provides is imprisonment of up to one year or probation . It is common practice for the accused to be sentenced to imprisonment, with the court postponing the execution of the sentence ( conditional conviction).

A conditional conviction, although not often regarded as a “real” punishment, is actually quite a serious consequence of the criminal liability and can have extremely severe consequences for the convict.

*We advice you to brought the child maintenance cases with our family lawyers, just to get a full protection of your and of the children’s interests.

June 8, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices

Legal grounds for divorce Bulgaria

Our family lawyer has been asked many times for the reasons and legal grounds for divorce in Bulgaria. Hiring a lawyer is advisable to avoid any futher problems.It is necessary. There are no formal impediments that would prevent either party from filing a petition in court.

Finally we would like to show basically the two important legal, grounds for divorce are set out in the Bulgarian Family Code: irretrievable breakdown of the marriage and mutual consent.

Divorce through breakdown of the marriage: Article 49 FC

Each of the spouses is entitled to petition for divorce where there has been a ‘serious and irretrievable breakdown’ of the
marriage.

(2) When granting the decree of divorce the court makes a ruling on its own motion on the issue of the fault for the breakdown of the marriage, unless the breakdown is caused by objective factors which cannot be ascribed as the fault of either spouse.

(3) The court does not rule on the issue of fault for the breakdown of the marriage where the spouses so request and they submit to the court their agreement on the custody of any children and access to and maintenance of the children, and also on the division of their property, the use of the matrimonial home, the payment of maintenance and the use of the family name.

(4) A divorce is not allowed where the breakdown of the marriage is due solely to the misconduct of the petitioner and the

Bulgarian Family Lawyer, Divorce, Child Maintenance and Custody

respondent wishes to preserve the marriage, unless there are important reasons why the divorce action must continue.

Divorce by mutual consent: Article 50.FC

Where there is serious and firm agreement between the parties about the divorce, the court allows it without investigating their motives for
terminating the marriage. A petition for a divorce by mutual consent cannot be filed until three years after the contraction of the marriage.

Agreement reached by the spouses in a divorce by mutual consent:

Above all else, divorce by mutual consent is a lot cheaper and faster, rather than filing a lawsuit. Such divorce is possible, if one of the parties is Bulgarian citizen.

Both parties must sign an agreement, which may be drafted in couple of languages – it’s imperative, that one of them is Bulgarian. In case of a lawsuit, relevant for the court will only be the one drafted in Bulgarian.
An agreement must be reached about all of the following:

The divorce will follow trough by mutual consent.
If there are children, born during the marriage – who will exercise effectively the parental rights, with whom will the children live respectively; what amount of child support is to be payed – child support may not be less then 125 BGN per month for every child.
When will the parent, who’s not effectively exercising the parental rights, be allowed visiting, personal contact, and personal time with the children.
Who will be using the family home, if there is one, and it is located in Bulgaria.

It should be noted, that according to the Bulgarian legislation, unlike other countries, the divorcing parties are entitled to alimony only in specific cases, where one of the parties is unable to work or maintain itself trough estate property, due to medical condition.

Article 51
(1) In a divorce by mutual consent the spouses have to include provisions in the agreement regarding the discharge of parental rights and obligations, their personal relations, and the maintenance of the children, and also their property relations, the use of the matrimonial home, the payment of maintenance and the use of the family name. The agreement is ratified by the court after it is satisfied that the interests of the children have been protected.

(2) Where the agreement is not complete or the interests of the children are not well protected the court sets a term within which these defects should be remedied. If the defects have not been remedied within this term, the divorce petition is dismissed.

Applications for child custody and child maintenance after the termination of a marriage by mutual consent

June 8, 2018/by lawyer

Legal advices, News, Personal

European Arrest Warrant BULGARIA

The European arrest warrant is a judicial decision given in an EU Member State and aims at detaining and surrendering a wanted person from another Member State for the purpose of prosecuting or executing a custodial sentence or a detention order.

Our law office D.Vladimirov & Partners is dully specialized in international criminal law.

We have expertise in drug abuse violations, money laundering, white collar crimes, forgery and counterfeiting, fraud, financial crimes and tax fraud offenses, driving and traffic crimes.

Our legal practice allows me to handle international and especially international criminal law issues at a high professional level.

Many times we cooperate with foreign colleagues in Extradition or European Arrest Warrant cases from or to BULGARIA….just to provide the most reliable legal service to our clients in Bulgaria, as defense counsel, lawyer proividing criminal & extrations order services.

The procedure imposed by the Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 (2002/584 / JI) is based on the principle of mutual trust and the recognition of judgments.

The European arrest warrant is a simplified cross-border judicial surrender procedure – for the purpose of prosecuting or executing a custodial sentence or detention order.

A warrant issued by one EU country’s judicial authority is valid in the entire territory of the EU. It has replaced the lengthy extradition procedures that used to exist between EU countries.

Accordingly, where the authority responsible for the execution of a warrant has in its possession evidence of a real risk of inhuman or degrading treatment of persons detained in the Member State where the warrant was issued, that authority must assess that risk before deciding on the surrender of the individual concerned.

In Bulgaria the European Arrest Warrant is governed by the Law on Extradition and European Arrest Warrant.

The aim of the European arrest warrant is to aid the fight with international terrorism and organized crime after 10/11/2001.

The procedures in order to issue such warrant are initiated with a request by a judicial authority in one EU country to arrest a person in another and surrender them for prosecution, or to execute a custodial sentence or detention order issued in the first country.

The mechanism is based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions.

In applying the EAW, authorities have to respect the procedural rights of suspects or accused persons – such as the right to information, to have a lawyer, and an interpreter, and to legal aid as stipulated by law in the country where they are arrested.

According to the Bulgarian Law on Extradition and European Arrest Warrant, the Court shall refuse to execute if:

the offence, which the warrant has been issued for is amnestied in the Republic of Bulgaria and shall enter under its prosecution jurisdiction;
has been notified, that the requested person has been sentenced with an entered into force sentence by a Bulgarian court or by the court of a third Member State and the person services or has serviced the penalty
the required person is under aged as per the Bulgarian legislation.

There is no mention in the Bulgarian Law on Extradition and European Arrest Warrant of grounds for refusal connected with persons’ human rights.

The country where the person is arrested has to take a final decision on the execution of the European arrest warrant within 60 days after the arrest of the person. If the person consents to the surrender, the surrender decision must be taken within 10 days.

The person requested must be surrendered as soon as possible on a date agreed between the authorities concerned, and no later than 10 days after the final decision on the execution of the European arrest warrant.

The legal procedures of European Arrest Warrant.

The surrender procedure based on a European Arrest Warrant is settled at first instance in one of the 28 district courts.

Upon receipt of a European arrest warrant in one of the appropriate ways (mail, fax, e-mail, etc.), the court appoints a court hearing within 7 days of the person’s detention, explaining to him the right to consent handing over to the issuing Member State, and to refuse to apply the principle of specificity.

When the requested person agrees to be surrendered, the court prescribes a restricted procedure for verifying the conditions.

In these cases, for example, the fact that criminal proceedings have been brought in Bulgaria for the same offense referred to in the European Arrest Warrant has no legal significance.

If the requested person does not give his consent to be surrendered to the issuing State, the competent court shall verify whether the European arrest warrant contains the requisite legal details.

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In addition, it is necessary to verify the existence of certain reasons which prevent the transfer of the requested person.

The following grounds for refusal are of particular importance in the case law:

a judgment which has the force of res judicata for the same act for which surrender is requested by the European Arrest Warrant (ne bis in idem),
the criminal proceedings in Bulgaria for the same offense were terminated,
to the Bulgarian legislation the execution of the punishment is expired.

Even before the Decision of the Court of Justice, there have been instances where foreign courts have declined to hand over inmates to Bulgaria due to concerns over dire prison conditions.

In light of the above it becomes clear that the Bulgarian legislation needs serious amendments in order to adjust to the standards of securing fundamental human rights of the persons detained.

If you need our legal assitance, do not hesitate to contact us immediately !

Our law office D. Vladimirov & Partners is here for you to support you to avoid extradision so that you will be able to take advantage of all the opportunities and options our country is giving you.

Call us for more information on + 359 897 90 43 91 or send us your inquiry on office@lawyer-bulgaria.bg

June 3, 2018/by lawyer

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