So, what is divorce? Divorce could be defined as a method for court termination of the marriage between the spouses during their lifetime due to reasons that occurred in the course of the action of the marriage, i.e. after its conclusion. Only the judicial form of divorce is allowed.

What are the prerequisites for divorce? Marriage.

In order to have a divorce first we should have a legally concluded marriage. According to the legal definition in Bulgaria, only man and woman could enter into marriage before a civil status official (major of a municipality). I.e. Bulgarian legislation, contrary to the one in some countries (Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, France, USA) does not allow homosexual marriage. Only persons over 18 years of age could enter into marriage in Bulgaria. Exception could be done for persons below the age of 16 in case of significant reasons and only with the permission of the district court. The persons getting married may also sign a marriage contract, which may regulate their relations during their marriage (marital property regime). Unfortunately (or fortunately), the marital relation does not last forever and the marriage will inevitably end. This could happen in case of death of one of the spouses, given marriage annulment clauses are available (i.e. when obstacles for its conclusion are established, e.g. if it turns out that the spouses have blood relation or if the consent for the marriage has been given under threat) and divorce.

Reasons for divorce.

According to a fundamental principle in law, the juridical situation should correspond to the factual one. The merely formal preservation of marriage results in discrepancy between the juridical and factual status and cannot meet the idea of a normal marital relation.

The disruption between the spouses may be due to vanished love, trust, respect, interests, etc. Proved or presumed infidelities are also among the most quoted reasons for divorce. Preservation of marriage without the actual will of the spouses (or of one of them) is often useless.

Sometimes divorce is preceded by cases of domestic violence, insults and self-mutilation involving relatives of the spouses, serious scandals. It is not rare to encounter murder attempts as well.

Before and after marriage complicated relations are observed, drained with hatred, malice and desire for revenge.

Sometimes however marriage disrupts due to other reasons beyond the control of the spouses, or due to circumstances which have been impossible to avoid – the spouses live separately (actual separation), work in different cities, etc. Incompatibility in characters and financial problems are also mentioned as reasons for divorce.

What is of great significance for forming the court judgment for each individual case is not the particular reason that lead to the disruption of the marital relation but rather is the impact it has inflicted on the spouse relations and whether it has brought the marriage to a deep and irreparable disorder.

Divorce according to Bulgarian legislation

Divorce is realized in Bulgaria by two ways: by mutual consent (uncontested divorce) and by general claim procedure (contested divorce).

In divorce by mutual consent, the spouses share unanimously the will to separate. There is no dispute between them because they have reached agreement on the consequences of the divorce, incl. their future relations, partition of the property, parental rights over children, alimony. In divorce by mutual consent, the parties sign up an agreement on the relations after the marriage termination. In this case, the judicial procedure is not a contested one but from the group of the non-contentious proceedings. The spouses file a joint petition and the court only verifies the presence of all legal requirements and admits the divorce without examination of their motives for marriage termination.

Namely, the latter circumstance is the main difference with the divorce by general claim procedure. This type of divorce in Bulgarian law is equivalent to the divorce due to marriage disorder. The court shall rule also on the fault for the marriage disorder if any of the spouses require this. In any phase of the proceedings, the spouses may lodge an agreement with the court regarding all or some of the consequences of the divorce and the court should check whether the interests of children are protected.

The divorce by general claim procedure is a contested proceeding that is realized under the terms of the special claim proceedings under the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code.

Nevertheless, you should have in mind that divorces by mutual consent are very frequent even though there is no mutual consent of the spouses. One of them may not desire the divorce but agrees on the marriage termination by mutual consent because the contested one could result in less favourable consequences (property ones, parental rights over the children, etc.).

It is also possible that both parties wish to divorce, i.e. there is mutual consent for separation, but the divorce is carried out by general claim procedure because they cannot reach an agreement on its consequences.

How much does a divorce cost in Bulgaria?

According to Regulation no. 1 from 09.07.2004 on the minimum amount of attorney fees (Art. 7, para 2 and 4) the minimum remuneration for a mutual consent divorce is 400 BGN and for contested on – 600 BGN; in case of setting the property relations, drafting the agreement should be paid as for other invaluable claims – 600 BGN. Factual and legal complexity of the concrete case is also of significance for determining the attorney remuneration. The attorney may determine a fee over the minimum one after evaluation of the facts and evidences that should be collected in the course of the proceeding (e.g. examination of witnesses, hearing of experts, collection of written evidence).

In addition, in case of divorce, state fees should be paid to the courts (in accordance with the Tariff for state fees, which are collected by the courts under the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code): a fee for filing a case in the amount of 25 BGN; fee after the completion of the case in the amount of up to 50 BGN (by mutual consent – 40 BGN, 20 BGN per party). A copy of the decision costs 3 BGN. When alimony is awarded, a fee of 2% is collected on the amount of alimony, calculated for three years.

In case of divorce, other costs are possible, e.g. in connection with the summoning and representation of the defendant.

Besides, in case of maintenance granted for a child, according to Art. 78, para 6 of the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code, when the case is decided in favor of a person exempted from a state fee or from costs of the proceedings, the convicted person shall be obliged to pay all due fees and expenses. The respective amounts are awarded in favor of the court.

The issue of guilt is essential for the award of costs in the event of a contested divorce, and the following may be noted:

     - The guilty spouse is the one who has to pay the costs of the case. In the event that both spouses are at fault or that there is no fault at all, the costs will remain as incurred.

     - Paying the spouse maintenance will also remain responsibility of the guilty spouse (if such a claim is made).

    - The family home, as well as parental rights, will be given to the spouse, who is not to blame for the termination of the marriage. In deciding this, the interests of the children, the health of the spouses, etc. are taken into account.

In case of divorce by mutual consent, it is possible to settle the ownership of common properties acquired during the marriage, whereby fees and expenses are charged as in the case of transfer of properties by notary. It is possible for the court to appoint an expert to determine the market value of the properties, i.e. fees and costs can be calculated on the basis of a tax assessment or market value in connection with the court's decision. It is rare to come to such a settlement of property relations in the framework of the divorce procedure by mutual consent due to the significant increase in prices and delays.

What documents are filed for divorce? Where should we file them?

In case of divorce, the necessary documents are: original marriage certificate; a copy of the child's birth certificate, if the parties have minor children; sample documents (notice of termination of the marriage and information note); petition for divorce on behalf of the parties together with an agreement signed by them on its legal consequences (if the divorce is by mutual consent); documents related to the guilt sought in the other spouse (if such is pretended in a contested divorce); lawyer's power of attorney and document for paid state fees.

In order to determine the amount of maintenance, it is necessary to attach evidence of the spouses' income, the needs of the children, etc.

The petition for divorce by mutual consent is submitted to the district court where one of the spouses resides. The petition in case of contested divorce is filed in the district court at the permanent address of the other spouse.

What should a divorce petition include?

The divorce petition must include request to the court to rule on the following issues:

     • Who stays to live in the family home?

     • What will be the amount of ex-spouse's maintenance, if claimed?

     • Who of the two parents will exercise parental rights? What is the regime of contact with the children going to be?

     • What will be the amount of maintenance that the parent, who shall not exercise the parental rights, will pay?

     • Will the wife change her last name after the divorce or will she keep her current one?

The petition for contested divorce must contain all the facts and circumstances that led to the deep and irreparable disorder of the marriage. These circumstances should be proved by all possible means of evidence, most often by witnesses. In the divorce petition, the plaintiff should also state whether he/she will seek the fault of the other spouse for the disorder of the marriage. Guilt for the disorder of the marriage is significant when a claim is made for the use of the family home after the divorce, in respect of the costs of the case which should be paid by the guilty spouse and the maintenance due by the guilty spouse, as well as for the parental rights that are most likely granted for exercising to a spouse who is not at fault for the divorce.

COVID-19 - now how to divorce? Coronavirus divorce.

The involuntary social isolation along the COVID-19 pandemic has inflamed the already delicate relationship between some spouses, who even before the pandemic had considered divorce. A popular quote during the crisis is "My marriage had previous illnesses - COVID just killed him" (source: https://news.bg/). Finding psychotherapeutic help during the crisis is very difficult, which has accelerated the divorce of several couples. However, more time spent during the pandemic was good for some families, as they were able to discuss and clarify many of their problems and come together.

In Bulgaria (among other countries) in 2020 an innovative procedure was introduced - online divorce. During the state of emergency, it became possible due to the Law on Measures and Actions During the State of Emergency and the law on its amendment, allowing meetings for this procedure to be held up to 2 months after the end of the state of emergency.

Divorce was practiced on Skype in the Sofia District Court (the largest district court in the country). Thus, spouses do not waste time going to court, but get in contact from a convenient place for them, and their lawyers - for example, from their offices.

Due to a change in the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code from the end of November 2020, the divorce by videoconference link remains possible also after the lifting of the restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Art. 135a. (New, SG No. 98/2020) of the Civil Procedure Code regulates the participation of the parties in court proceedings by videoconference.

According to Art. 150, para. 6 of the Civil Procedure Code (New, SG No. 98/2020), for the performed videoconference, after notifying the participants in it, a video recording shall be prepared on an electronic media (i.e. CD). The video is attached to the case.

There are also regulations on the collection of evidence by videoconference (Article 156a of the Civil Procedure Code).

The supplementary provisions of the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code include a definition of "Videoconference": communication link through technical means for simultaneous transmission and reception of image and sound between participants in the procedure, located in different places, allowing recording and storage of information on electronic media.

The condition for online divorce before the changes in the Civil Procedure Code, and now, is the divorce to be by mutual consent. The petition to the court must state that the spouses do not mind the case being heard on Skype, and the reasons for this must be stated, e.g. inability to return to the country due to the pandemic.

More details about divorces during the pandemic can be found at: https://www.monitor.bg/; https://www.standartnews.com/; https://www.actualno.com/; and others.

To a verification by this procedure are subject the sentences and court judgments entered into force, as well as certain orders of court.

It is important to identify and distinguish properly the persons entitled to file a claim for renewal of criminal proceedings.

In accordance with the Criminal codex and article 420, a claim for renewal of criminal proceedings could be initiated by the Regional prosecutor, respectively the Military head of prosecutor’s office, the Chief officer of the specialized prosecutor’s office and in certain circumstances – the State’s General Prosecutor.

Тhe convicted of a crime of a general scope who has not previously been discharged of criminal liability by imposing an administrative punishment on the ground of art. 78a from the Criminal codex, is entitled to claim a request for renewal of criminal proceedings on this sole ground in particular cases (Art. 422, par. 1, 4-6).

It is important to emphasize that the request for renewal does not cease the execution of the sentence unless the prosecutor or the court holds differently.

GROUNDS FOR RENEWAL

Art. 422, par. 1, criminal proceedings is renewed when:

1. some of the evidence on which the sentence, decision, judgment or order of court is based turn out to be non-authentic and false;

2. a judge, member of the jury, prosecutor or an investigator-in-charge has committed a crime in connection with their participation in the criminal procedure;

3. in the course of an investigation new circumstances or evidence is revealed, which have not been previously known by the court held the sentence, decision, judgment or order of the court, and have a significant meaning for the lawsuit;

4. through a decision of the European court of human rights a violation of the European convention of human rights of significant importance for the lawsuit is identified;

5. significant violations have been admitted

6. extradition has been admitted in the case it has been rendered in absentia given a guarantee from the Bulgarian state for renewal of the criminal proceedings – for the crime the extradition has been admitted for.

The abovementioned circumstances are established with final court judgment, and in the cases when a sentence cannot be held – through an investigation.

Another important aspect is the deadline for filing such a claim. It is beyond doubt that on certain grounds filing such a claim is restricted by a particular term, arranged in the law. However, for one of the most common ground – namely the one of revealing new and previously unknown circumstances or evidences of significance for the case itself, there is no such a restriction in terms of deadline, because the convicted by an entered into force sentence or approved by the court Agreement, is able to seise directly the competent regional prosecutor and a new investigation could be аppointed given such an assessment.

In the case of revealing of new circumstances or evidence which have not previously been known by the court held the sentence, judgmenet or order of court, and are of significance for the proceedings,

The current article does not claim to be complete or exhaustive and only aims at outlining the main aspects of the legal institution of renewal of criminal proceedings as well as the personal perception of the author.

Generally, the proceedings are initiated by a written application by a party (the applicant). Even though there is a merely apparent similarity between the definitions designating the figure of the party by whose intitiative the procedure starts in both the contentious and non-contentious litigation, they are substantially different and this is attributable to the fact that the uncontested are one-sided, unilateral proceedings with just one party of the court seised.

Furthermore, the application is submitted at the competent regional court where the permanent residence of the applicant is. The application is reviewed in a closed hearing session, unless the formation of the court estimates that for the purpose of rightful, thorough and comprehensive judgment an open hearing should be held. The court formation shall be binding upon and closely monitoring respect for all the requirements available in order to issue the demanded order. The verification of the relevant facts is down to the court’s own motion. The applicants in the non-contentious proceedings are ordered to bear their own costs unlike the framework in this aspect in the common contentious two-parties proceedings. However, a significant part of the legal arrangement relevant for the contentious procedures finds application in the unilateral ones. Witness evidence given before other institutions and authorities is generally accepted in the one-sided proceedings and the deciding court could rely on it to form its final judgment as there is no hindrance for that. The appeal of the refusal for the demanded judgment to be issued could be undertaken in a one week term with effect from the date the judgment is received by the party, whereas the judgment by which the application for issuing the demanding act is respected, is not subject to appeal.

One of the distinctive and most common proceedings of this group is the Acceptance of succession under benefit of inventory, which finds application when it comes to proceedings in which the indefeasible right and interest or the so called ,,reserved portion’’ of range of property involved in the succession is disputed or infringed by a third party.

Links to media:

https://bntnews.bg/news/

https://novini.bg/

https://pik.bg/

https://www.investor.bg/