The presidents of bar councils in the country announced in a statement to the media that they find the veto of President Rumen Radev, which returns the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Advocacy for a new discussion in the National Assembly, is completely unacceptable, reported novini.bg.
On September 11, the parliament voted that the lawyer or lawyer from the European Union has the right to advertise his professional activity, subject to the requirements of the law and the Lawyer's Code of Ethics.
As a result of the persistent attempts of the bar in the country, the people's representatives were convinced that the changes in the law would only bring benefits to the society and they were accepted by a large majority in the second reading by the National Assembly (NA). The amendments to the Law on Advocacy adopted by the Supreme Court are entirely in favor of citizens, guaranteeing them the opportunity to receive adequate legal protection before the courts. The aim of the law is to bring security and legal order also with regard to the figure of the special representative, which is part of the country's efforts to actually become a state governed by the rule of law, as proclaimed in the Constitution, writes the position of the lawyers.
According to them, the disputed texts were prepared by the Bulgarian Bar, in accordance with the principles of independence, freedom and self-governance of the Bar, enshrined in the Constitution.
Preventing the Bulgarian Bar from proposing an adequate normative regulation that would create a balance between the free market of legal services in the country and the need to improve the way of organization of special representation by the Bar is a gross denial and non-compliance with the principles proclaimed by the Constitution, human rights activists remind.
According to them, the obstacles created during the adoption and promulgation of the Bill are a frank manifestation of reluctance to carry out actual judicial reform.
Thus, in practice, lawyers become legal advisers and servants of the court, which will first be able to choose the party's lawyer and then set humiliating fees for him without clear criteria and reasons. This will inevitably affect the quality of the lawyer's work, as well as the protection of his clients. It is unacceptable to give precedence to the arbitrator, which is the court, to choose which lawyer to represent whom and to determine his remuneration.
The determination of a lawyer and his remuneration should be carried out by the Bar Council, observing objective criteria such as seniority, skills and experience in the relevant proceedings, but not by the court, whose functions in the process are different. If such subjective intervention of the court is allowed in relation to the lawyers in the cases, then reciprocally the criminal court panels should be able to choose which prosecutor to appoint in proceedings under the Criminal Procedure Code, the position reads. It is signed by bar associations from all over the country.
We express our complete disagreement with the President's reasons for equating the legal service with commercial activity. The legal activity of representation before a court is not a simple service, but an activity in the interest of justice, which aims to ensure the protection of the rights and interests of citizens and legal entities, and regardless of the fact that it generates income for the lawyer, it has a different economic purpose – to provide an effective defense and guarantee the right to a fair trial, the lawyers said in the statement.
They state that they are opposed to the flagrant violation of the principle of freedom of contract on which the lawyer's service is based, which is a service intuitu personae, to which the parties to the contract are only the lawyer and his client, and any interference of third parties in these fiduciary relationships is a threat to the rights of their fiduciaries.
We note that the President's motives completely echo the motives of the Union of Judges, which raises reasonable doubts about addictions and raises questions about what they are caused by. The manifestation of disrespect towards the representatives of the only constitutionally enshrined free profession, called to assist citizens and organizations in protecting their rights and legitimate interests and to be corrective to the court, we find to be a manifestation of disrespect for the legal order in general, the declaration reads.
The presidents of bar councils in the country fully support the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Advocacy, adopted by the 50th National Assembly.
We are convinced that decisive and not half-hearted measures should be taken to improve the work of the justice system, leading to the transformation of the country into a true state of law with a justice system that guarantees fast and quality justice and enjoys high trust in society . Otherwise, we are ready to stop our participation in her work with all the resulting consequences, the lawyers say.
They state that they are ready to start effective protest actions that will make it difficult for a number of institutions in the country to work.