E-Justice services in Bulgaria are developed and operated primarily by three public authorities: the Ministry of Electronic Government, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Judicial Council.
1. The Ministry of Electronic Government has developed a unified model of e-Government, with the following components, relevant to e-Justice and digital public services:
A Unified Portal for Access to Electronic Administrative Services, which is an entry point to the services, delivered by electronic administrative service providers for application, payment and delivery of electronic administrative services.
An eDelivery system, which allows sending, receiving and storing electronic documents for and from public authorities, citizens and legal entities. The eDelivery system is an electronic equivalent of the registered mail with a return receipt.
An ePayment System.
The electronic authentication of persons accessing e-Government resources is possible with a Qualified Electronic Signature or Personal Identification Code, issued by the National Revenue Agency or the National Social Security Institute.
2. The Ministry of Justice operates the Commercial Register and the Register for Non-Profit Entities, and the electronic services these registers provide; an on-line mediation platform and an online platform for Electronic Criminal Conviction Certificates; an e-justice services as a platform for online participation in public judicial auctions.
3. The Supreme Judicial Council is the supreme administrative body of the judiciary. It has developed an Unified e-Justice Portal which facilitates electronic access to case files and electronic service of judicial documents.
There is no online platform or application that facilitates access to legal aid in Bulgaria. The National Legal Aid Office however offers free primary legal advice through a national legal aid telephone line. More information on access to legal aid in Bulgaria is available here.
Victims of crime are entitled to claim damages against the offender in criminal proceedings or to take separate legal action for compensation against the offender under civil law. There are however, no electronic tools or mechanisms facilitating the procedures for bringing claims for damages.
Pursuant to the Assistance and Financial Compensation of Victims of Crime Act, victims of some violent intentional crimes are entitled to compensation from the state. The application for financial compensation are directed to the National Council for Assistance and Financial Compensation of Victims of Crimes at the Ministry of Justice. The application forms are available for download here. No electronic or ICT application is used for the delivery of this service.
Following the amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, as of 30 June 2021, civil cases can be initiated entirely online. Legal practitioners and other litigants can file all court documents for civil cases via email. Applications (claims, complaints, other documents) for initiation of civil cases, submitted electronically have to be signed with a Qualified Electronic Signature. Here are the courts that accept documents registered electronically through Unified e-Justice Portal. There is a 15% fee reduction for cases that are initiated online.
Once a court case is initiated, lawyers and parties to the case can request access to the case file through the Unified e-Justice Portal, operated by the Supreme Judicial Council.
Purpose and scope: А possibility for electronic service of judicial documents is envisaged by the three main procedural laws - the Civil Procedure Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Administrative Procedure Code. A party to court proceedings can request to be served judicial documents electronically at:
- A qualified electronic registered delivery service, such as the e-Delivery System, operated by the e-Government Ministry;
- The Unified e-Justice Portal, operated by the Supreme Judicial Council.
Serving judicial documents through email account is also a valid method of service in some judicial proceedings. At any time, the litigants and other parties to the case can opt out from the electronic service option.
Competent authority:
Ministry of e-Government, for the e-Delivery System
Supreme Judicial Council, for the Unified e-Justice Portal
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements:
As a rule, electronic service of judicial documents through the e-Delivery System and the Unified e-Justice Portal is accessible to the parties to a specific case, their lawyers and other participants in the case.
- Identification and authentication requirements:
To access e-Delivery System, a user has to authenticate his/ her identity using one of the following identification tools:
- a Qualified Electronic Signature
- a Personal Identity Number issued by the National Tax Agency
- a Personal Identification Number issued by the National Social Security Institute.
To access the Unified e-Justice Portal, a user has to authenticate his/ her identity using a Qualified Electronic Signature Certificate.
- Documents to be provided:
Access to the e-Delivery System and Unified e-Justice Portal is not conditioned upon the provision of any documents.
Legal effects of electronic document: Judicial documents served through the e-Delivery System or the Unified e-Justice Portal are considered delivered at the moment they are downloaded from the system. In civil and administrative proceedings, if the documents are not downloaded within 7 days of their sending, they are considered delivered on the first day after the 7-day period has expired. In criminal cases, if the documents are not downloaded in the 7-day period of their sending, they have to be served on paper.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Provided that the user possesses a Qualified Electronic Signature, the procedures can be completed fully online.
Cost: The services are free.
Links:
More information how to obtain a access to electronic service of judicial documents in Bulgaria is available at: https://ecase.justice.bg/Home/FAQ and https://edelivery.egov.bg/Help.
А possibility for judicial auctions has been stipulated in Articles 501a-501g of the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code since 2017. The law envisages a possibility for auctions to take place in a dedicated electronic platform, set up and administered by the Ministry of Justice, allowing remote participation with the use of a Qualified Electronic Signature. The platform has been developed and has been put into production since July 20, 2023.
Link: https://zapori.mjs.bg/
Pursuant to Article 487 (2) of the Civil Procedure Code there is an obligation for bailiffs to publish the announcements for auctions on the website of the regional court where the auction is taking place. Furthermore, under Article 19 (4) of the Private Bailiffs Act, private bailiffs are required to publish judicial auctions announcements on the website of the Chamber of Private Bailiffs: https://sales.bcpea.org/
Purpose and scope: Mediation in Bulgaria is entirely voluntary. It is regulated by the Mediation Act. Pursuant to Article 2 of the Mediation Act, mediation is a voluntary and confidential procedure for out-of-court resolution of disputes, whereby a third party, mediator, assists the disputants in reaching a settlement. The subject of mediation may be civil, commercial, labour, family and administrative disputes related to consumer rights, and other disputes between natural and/or legal persons, including when they are cross-border disputes. The law allows mediation to be conducted in the cases provided for in the Criminal Procedure Code, but currently there are no such cases envisaged.
In 2020 the Ministry of Justice launched the website https://mediation.mjs.bg/ which has a free module for conducting online mediation. The mediation module allows the users to:
- initiate mediation by submitting an application;
- choose a mediator;
- accept or refuse an agreement to start mediation;
- authorize a person representing them after the start of the procedure;
- accept or reject an event organized by the mediator;
- organize an event with the mediator;
- accept or reject an agreement (settlement) from mediation;
- terminate the mediation.
Communication in the system might be carried out via audio and video conferences, and chat.
An agreement concerning a legal dispute reached in a mediation process have the effect of a court settlement and is subject to approval by a regional court. The competent court approves the agreement, once acknowledged by the parties, if it does not contradict the law or the principles of morality.
Competent authority: Ministry of Justice
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements:
The applicant has to accept the terms of use of the platform.
Providing contact details of the other party is not a requirement for the submission of the application, but is encouraged.
- Identification and authentication requirements:
A qualified Electronic Signature is necessary for entering the online mediation platform
- Documents to be provided:
No documents are required.
Legal effects of electronic document: The agreement concluded in on on-line mediation procedure has the same legal effects as one signed off-line.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes.
Cost: The use of the online platform is free; however, the parties are responsible for the remuneration due to the mediator.
Link: https://mediation.mjs.bg/
More information how to access online mediation in Bulgaria is available here.
Purpose and scope: The Unified Portal for Requesting Electronic Administrative Services of the Registry Agency at the Ministry of Justice unites the online portals of the Commercial Register and the Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities, and the Property Register. Using the Unified Portal, unregistered users can access the public section of the profile of any company or non-profit entity, which contains information on their current registration status, legal address and representation, founding act, financial and narrative annual reports, etc. Registered users can get access to all electronic services provided by the Registry Agency and make payments for requested services electronically. The electronic services offered by the Commercial Register and the Register of Non-Profit Legal Entities include:
- Registration, re-registration, changes in circumstances regarding companies / non-profit organizations.
- Registration of circumstances regarding power of attorney, company branches, liquidation, others.
- Announcement of acts.
- Issuance of certificates.
Competent authority: Registry Agency at the Ministry of Justice
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: None.
- Identification and authentication requirements:
Registered users of the Registry Agency Portal can be authenticated with a username and password, as well as in the following additional ways:
- with Qualified Electronic Signature
- with a certificate issued by the Registry Agency
- with ta Personal Identification Code, issued by the National Revenue Agency
- Documents to be provided:
No documents are needed.
Legal effects of electronic document: N/A
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online:
Yes, all procedures can be requested entirely online.
Cost: The use of the online Unified Portal is free of charge. Different fees apply for the different services offered by the Registers.
Link: https://portal.registryagency.bg/CR/services
More information how to register a company and access information on companies in Bulgaria is available here.
Purpose and scope: Citizens can submit electronic requests for multilingual standard forms of birth, marriage and death certificates through the e-Forms System, operated by the EA e-Government Infrastructure. Access to the e-Forms System is available through the user’s personal profile on egov.bg.
Competent authority: EA e-Government Infrastructure/ Municipal authorities
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements:
Multilingual standard forms of birth, marriage and death certificates can be requested by persons concerned by the certificate and authorized third parties.
- Identification and authentication requirements:
Users need a Qualified Electronic Signature (QES) authentication to access the Unified Portal for Access to Electronic Administrative Services, as well as an Adobe Reader programme.
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Documents to be provided:
In all cases, applicants have to submit:
- An application for issuance of the certificate
- A document for paid fee.
Other documents might be required depending on the individual circumstances.
Legal effects of electronic document: The document has the legal effects as envisaged by the Regulation (EU) 2016/1191.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: Yes, the procedure can be completed entirely online.
Cost: The cost varies depending on the municipal administration, providing the service. The due amount is automatically generated and the user is directed to the ePayment system.
Purpose and scope:
The portal for electronic services of the Prosecutor's Office of Republic of Bulgaria offers the following services, available after registration with a qualified electronic signature (QES):
- Issuing a certificate for pending criminal proceedings
- Filing of complaints, signals and others from citizens
- Submitting an application on the Access to Public Information Act
- Issuing a certificate for an injured party
- Submitting a request for compulsory accommodation and treatment
- Submitting a report, claim or complaint about domestic violence
- Issuing a certificate of penalty served.
The portal for electronic services of the Prosecutor's Office of Republic of Bulgaria also offers the service „Checking the status of a file/case” for which no registration is required.
The result of the execution of electronic services is obtained in the profile registered with QES or at the email address specified during registration, with the exception of the „Checking the status of a file/case”, where the result visualizes directly on the screen of the browser being used.
Competent authority:
Prosecutor's Office of Republic of Bulgaria
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: None
- Identification and authentication requirements: To access portal, a user has to authenticate his identity using a Qualified Electronic Signature.
Legal effects of electronic document: The document sent or received online has the same legal effects as the one signed off-line.
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online: The procedures can be completed fully online for Issuing a certificate or information.
Cost: The services are free, with the exception of the service “Issuing a certificate for pending criminal proceedings” (2 BGN)
Purpose and scope: The Open Data Portal of Public Prosecutor's Office of Republic of Bulgaria provides public access to the open data sets provided by Public Prosecutor's Office and related to annual reports and any other reporting.
Competent authority:
Prosecutor's Office of Republic of Bulgaria
Conditions of access:
- Eligibility requirements: None
- Identification and authentication requirements: None
Legal effects of electronic document: N/A
Possibility to complete the procedure fully online:
Cost: N/A
Link: https://opendata.prb.bg/