site.btaConstitutional Court Rules That Istanbul Convention Contravenes Constitution

Sofia, July 27 (BTA) - The Istanbul Convention (formally: the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence) contravenes the Bulgarian Constitution, the Constitutional Court found, the Court said in a press release Friday.

The Court's decision is signed with dissenting opinions of four of the judges. The other eight judges are of the opinion that the Istanbul Convention is in conflict with the Constitution.

The Constitutional Court was petitioned by 75 MPs to pronounce on the matter at the start of March, after the proposed ratification of the Convention by the government in January met with serious opposition from the United Patriots, a coalition which is part of the ruling coalition, from the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Volya party and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on the grounds that it threatens traditional family values of Bulgarian society.