The changes to the Bar Law, which would provide for the determination of a minimum remuneration for lawyer services, as well as adequate payment for legal aid, are priorities of the Ministry of Justice. This was stated by the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev before the General Assembly of the Sofia Bar Association (SBA).
At it, the capital's defenders will also elect their delegates for the General Assembly of the Bar Association at the end of February, at which new governing bodies of the guild will be elected, the press center of the Ministry of Justice announced.
The Speaker of the National Assembly Natalia Kiselova, the Chairman of the Supreme Bar Council Ivaylo Dermendzhiev, the Chairman of the National Bureau for Legal Aid Natalia Ilieva, the Chairman of the Sofia District Court Alexander Angelov, and others also came to congratulate the Sofia lawyers.
„The role of the lawyer is much more important than the one traditionally attributed to it. It is above all an expression of legal awareness, of the attitude towards the law, of the understanding that besides the letter, the law has a spirit“, the Minister of Justice told the forum.
Georgiev, who is also registered as a lawyer in the Bulgarian Bar Association, also outlined the current challenges facing the profession, which “are not easy to overcome“.
“Especially in the midst of the election battle in the guild, it is important to realize the need for a competition in which, ultimately, those who have won the trust of the majority of colleagues will win. As well as the need to protect the image and prestige, public trust in lawyers“, the Minister urged.
Georgi Georgiev categorically confirmed the position on the need to take measures to determine the minimum lawyer's remuneration in the Bar Act. And he stressed that this is not a problem of Bulgarian lawyers, but of citizens and legal entities, whose rights and interests the lawyers protect. He stated the readiness of the Ministry of Justice to guarantee adequate payment for legal aid.
“We are working on the issue, we are aware of the problem and we are aware of it“, said Georgi Georgiev. He thanked the colleagues from all over the country for the working mechanism to help victims of domestic violence – another of the priorities of the Ministry of Justice.
In the end, the Minister wished the lawyers: “Let's give way to qualities, expertise, knowledge. And the Ministry will be a partner who will listen“.