site.btaCC-DB Proposes Extraordinary Parliament Sitting "to Correct" Bar Act Amendments Concerning Ad Hoc Representatives

The Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) Coalition will support President Rumen Radev's veto of the latest amendments to The Bar Act in the part about ad hoc representatives, CC-DB MP Lena Borislavova told journalists on Tuesday. She called for an extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly to correct the law.

In principle, the legislature should not be meeting during the one-month campaign for the October 27 early parliamentary elections.

CC-DB holds that 95% of The Bar Act, the way it has been adopted, addresses a very important issue both for lawyers and their clients. But the remaining 5%, which concerns ad hoc representatives, is contrary to EU rules and fails to ensure justice for citizens when appointing their ad hoc representatives and setting the representatives' fees, Borislavova said.

It is because of this 5%, which can kill free competition, that CC-DB will back the presidential veto, she said. "We call on The Bar and the general public to exert pressure on the other political forces, so that we convene during our recess and resolve the issue in its entirety within a week, that is, to adopt the 95% part and correct the 5% part concerning ad hoc representatives. We have the legal and technical chance, and we have the time, even though elections are coming up. The National Assembly can work and resolve the issue within a week," Borislavova argued.