Leading lawyers insist parliament to urgently override the presidential veto on the Bar Act. President Rumen Radev vetoed several texts. Mainly for the so-called "special representative".
"It's not about the lawyers' money, it's about the people's money. Lawyers take their money from their clients, by virtue of the contract concluded with the client. And whether this money will be awarded as expenses to the party that was right and won the legal dispute, that is already within the powers of the court. After January of this year, because the possibility of these costs being awarded under the Minimum Solicitors' Fees Ordinance ceased to exist, this situation arose where urgent legislative measures had to be taken to say how the rules on costs were to be governed if you won the case. That's the whole point".
This was stated by the Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Bar Council, lawyer Valya Gigova, in the studio of "The Day ON AIR".
One of the most debated topics in the legal profession is the role of the special representative. Gigova clarified that the special representative is always a lawyer who represents a person who is not available and cannot be found. He acts in defense of this absent citizen, even without a direct contract with the client. However, this role often causes wrongful accusations and misunderstandings, which, according to Gigova, is the result of a misunderstanding of the system.
"What is the legal dispute that was staged absolutely without any basis - and so far the special representative is determined by the local bar councils, and now the remuneration of the special representative is also determined by the bar councils, because if the court determines expenses for the special representative, with which the Bar Council does not agree, because it cannot find a lawyer to hear a case for BGN 100, the Bar Council determines the remuneration, Gigova explained to Bulgaria ON AIR.
Gigova also commented on the topic of a possible conflict between the regulation on minimum attorney fees and European competition law. She categorically stated that there was no violation because these fees are determined within the framework of specific cases and do not affect the general rules of competition.
In response to the question why judicial reform is so important to politicians, Gigova pointed out that actually the topic is more important to people, and politicians are just using it for political statements.