BULGARIA
INTRODUCTION
- NATO since 2004
- EU since 2007
- Parliamentary Republic
- Three levels of governance:
Central government Districts Municipalities
HYSTORY
1.Tarnovo constitution
1879-1947
- 1879: after gaining the indipendence from the Ottoman Empire
- Liberal Equality of citizens
Property ownership rights Prohibition of slavery
- Separation of power
- Official religion: Orthodox religion
2.DIMITROV constitution
1947-1971
- Transition from a constitutional Monarchy to a People's Republic in an excercise of constitutional power (the Tarnovo Constitution did not provide for a change in the type of government)
- Modeled on the 1936 Soviet Union Constitution
- Bill of rights in the State's interests
3.Zhivkov constitution
1971- 1991
- Written by the Communist Party
- Defined Bulgaria as a socialist state
- Bill of rights in the State's interests
4. constitution of the republic of bulgaria
1991 - present
1990: National Assembly struck out article 1, which enshrined the BCP's 'leading role'
1991 Constitution
Supreme law of state
Codified
Forward-looking preamble: 1. Statements of principle 2. Form of state (democracy and social state) 3. Protection of national integrity
Rigid
Long
Reactive Constitution: - First and second generation rights - Public and private property
Art. 11. (1) Political activity in the Republic of Bulgaria shall be founded on the principle of political pluralism. (2) No political party or ideology shall be proclaimed or affirmed as a party or ideology of the State. (3) All parties shall facilitate the formation and expression of the citizens' political will. The procedure applying to the formation and dissolution of political parties and the conditions pertaining to their activity shall be established by law. (4) There shall be no political parties on ethnic, racial or religious lines, nor parties which seek the violent seizure of state power.
Totalitarian and Socialist State
Democracy
European Union
Art. 4. (3) (new, SG 18/05) Republic of Bulgaria shall participate in the building and development of the European Union.
Art. 5. (4) International treaties which have been ratified in accordance with the constitutional procedure, promulgated and having come into force with respect to the Republic of Bulgaria, shall be part of the legislation of the State. They shall have primacy over any conflicting provision of the domestic legislation.
BULGARIA IN THE EU
- 1995: application for membership
- Signing of the European Association Agreement
- 1997: the Commission put Bulgaria in the second wave wave of EU enlargement
- 2005: vote of the European Parliament in support of the Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria
- January 1 2007: accession
- Amendments of 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2007 introduced with view to membership in the EU
AMENDMENTS
- Grand National Assembly of Bulgaria for key articles
- National Assembly (66% supermajority)
Change in the Constitution - Brexit
- Addressed to UK citizens living and working in Bulgaria
- 12 April 2019: 'The Bill'
Residence and work permit
Levels of governance
LOCAL: taxes and fees, education, culture, healthcare and municipal property
CENTRAL: has legislative power in all areas and this power is in the hands of the National Assembly
REGIONAL: region and administrative territorial unit for the conduct of the regional policy
Division of power
Three branches
JUDICIAL
EXECUTIVE
LEGISLATIVE
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
1. President: (elected every five years) - absolute majority vote through two-round system Rumen Radev 2. Prime minister: leader of politicèal coalition in the National Assembly and the cabinet of ministers (elected by the parliament) Galab Donev
LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
Legislative power is in the hands of the National Assembly: enacts laws, selects and dismisses ministers, declares war, ratifies international treaties and agreements, etc...
JUDICIAL BRANCH
It has 4 types of courts: 1. Supreme administrative court 2. Supreme court of cassation 3. Regional courts 4. District courts Constitutional court of the republic of bulgaria twelve judges (nine years term) centralized constitutional review done by an ad hoc court-like body outside of the judicial branch
- 1/3 are elected by the National Assembly - 1/3 are appointed the president - 1/3 are elected by a staff consisting of the general meetings of the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria
Constitutional court decision
- 2000: the constitutional court bans UMO Ilinden-Pirin party - Evroroma (Евророма) and MRF(ДПС) parties are not banned - European court of human rights condemned bulgaria (act 11 from the european convention of human rights)
2018: Instanbul convention allegedly violates the constitution
- European Institute of Gender Equality: Bulgaria has the worst score in the EU in its composite measure of violence against women. - Special Eurobarometer 465 survey on Gender Equality of 2017: Bulgaria entertains considerably more ‘patriarchal’ beliefs on the role of women compared to other EU Member States: 81% of respondents agreed that the role of women was to take care of the home and the family.
47(2) A woman who is a mother benefits from the special protection of the State, which ensures she has paid maternity leave before and after giving birth, free obstetric care, alleviated working conditions and other social care
Art. 6. (1) All persons are born free and equal in dignity and rights. (2) All citizens* shall be equal before the law. There shall be no privileges or restriction of rights on the grounds of race, national or social origin, ethnic self-identity, sex, religion, education, opinion, political affiliation, personal or social status or property status.
2021: President Rumen Radev appointed Kiril Petkov as Minister of economy who at the time had dual citizenship
October 2021: Constitutional court overturned the decree appointing Petkov as Minister of Economy but his actions in the role were not nullified
REFERENCES
https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/bulgaria#:~:text=Bulgaria%20is%20located%20in%20Southern,and%20to%20the%20Middle%20East. - https://www.journalofdemocracy.org/countries/bulgaria/ library.oapen.org - https://www.parliament.bg/en/15 - http://maps.bg/blog-article/83/dimitrovskata-konstitutsia.html - https://maps.bg/blog-article/54/zhivkovskata-konstitutsia.html - https://www.gov.bg/en/About-Bulgaria/FORM-OF-GOVERNMENT/Form-of-government - https://portal.cor.europa.eu/divisionpowers/Pages/Bulgaria-Introduction.aspx - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/background - https://www.parliament.bg/en/const
REFERENCES
https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/bulgaria/governmenthttps://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Bulgaria_2015?lang=en - https://e-justice.europa.eu/16/EN/national_justice_systems?BULGARIA&member=1 - https://eurofast.eu/2022/08/23/bulgaria-amendments-in-the-vat-act-for-2022/ - https://www.parliament.bg/en/15http://maps.bg/blog-article/83/dimitrovskata-konstitutsia.htmlhttps://maps.bg/blog-article/54/zhivkovskata-konstitutsia.html - Bulgarian history textbook for 10th graders, authors Plamen Pavlov, Rayna Gavrailova, Veselin Yanchev, Lyubomir Ognyanov, Mariya Benova, Mariya Boseva, Kiril Slavchev (issued by Prosveta Publishing House, 2019) - https://bulgaria.representation.ec.europa.eu/za-nas/blgariya-v-es_bg - https://www.bg-pravo.com/2013/06/23.html?m=1 - https://www.europarl.europa.eu/cmsdata/233159/New_Visual_Identity_Factsheet_BG_-_National_Assembly_20210325.pdf