site.btaMediation Bill to Be Published for Public Discussion in March - Justice Minister

The bill on mediation will be put to public discussion in March, Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said at a meeting with representatives of the National Association of Mediators, his Ministry said in a press release Tuesday. The sides also discussed the proposals made by the Association. 

The bill on mediation is part of the reforms Bulgaria has committed to, to implement the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Justice Ministry specifies. 

Minister Georgiev acquainted the Association representatives with the progress made by the working group on amendments to the law, in relation to the Constitutional Court's  decision of 2024 that annulled provisions of the Mediation Act and the Code of Civil Procedure introducing mandatory judicial mediation in certain civil and commercial cases. Georgiev said that from his first day of work, the finalisation of this bill has been one of his most urgent tasks.

In July 2024, the Constitutional Court declared unconstitutional two provisions of the Mediation Act and the Code of Civil Procedure introducing mandatory mediation in certain civil and commercial cases. The Constitutional Court was motioned by the Supreme Bar Council. The court's decision was signed with a dissenting opinion by Judge Sonia Yankulova.

In April 2024, the Justice Ministry published draft revisions to the Mediation Act making mediation a self-regulating profession and establishing a national chamber of mediators to control and regulate the professional association.