European e-Justice Portal

Organisation of the administration of justice – the judiciary

Courts of first instance in civil and criminal cases

Regional Courts (RC)

The main court of first instance is the regional court. It examines civil, criminal and administrative/penal cases. Amongst these are family and labour law cases, claims for maintenance and adoption, actions on commercial disputes and civil cases where the cost of the action does not exceed 50 000 BGN (<€ 25 000) as well as partitions of corporeal immovable property.

The regional court consists of the chairman and his/her deputies, an administrative secretary, a registrar, a secretary, a clerk, a court official and an archivist.

District Courts (DC)

When acting as a court of first instance the district court examines:

Civil cases – actions to establish or disavow filiations, to terminate adoption, any actions for interdiction, as well as actions on civil cases where the cost of the action exceeds 50 000 BGN (> €25 000).
Criminal cases – cases on crimes against the republic, murders, aggravated robberies, possession and distribution of drugs, kidnapping and unlawful deprivation of liberty, crimes against the customs regime, crimes against the financial, tax and insurance systems, malfeasances, bribery, crimes against transport which have resulted in death, etc.
Commercial and company cases – non-profit-making legal entities are registered at the district court, which also examines complaints against refusals by the Recording Agency under the Commercial Registry Act. The district court also examines commercial disputes where the cost of the action exceeds 25 000 BGN, bankruptcy proceedings, as well as proceedings on complaints against enforcement agents' actions.
Administrative cases – pursuant to the transitional and final provisions of the Administrative Procedure Code, administrative cases instituted by 01.03.2007 are examined by district courts.

District courts are located in the district centres. Within each district court's judicial area there are one or several regional courts.

A City Court is established in Sofia and has the powers of a district court.

Intermediate appellate review in civil and criminal cases

District courts adjudicate as intermediate appellate review instances in civil and criminal cases which are established by law.

As the intermediate appellate review instance, the appellate court examines acts appealed against in district court cases, as well as other district court cases that have been assigned to it by law.

Cassation appellate review in civil and criminal cases

The Supreme Court of Cassation acts as third and last instance in all civil and criminal cases.

Legal database

Each court in Bulgaria maintains a website which corresponds to the needs of the citizens, legal entities and administrative authorities. Those websites provide information on the court's structure and activities, as well as information on ongoing cases and cases which are already closed.

Name and URL of the respective databases

The website of the Supreme Judicial Council provides a detailed list of the courts in Bulgaria along with their addresses and websites (in Bulgarian only).

Last update: 17/12/2018

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