The Cabinet fulfilled Bulgaria's last commitment to unblock the payments under the second payment of the Recovery and Resilience Plan. This was announced by the Minister of Justice Georgi Georgiev at a briefing in the Council of Ministers.
The funds total over 10 billion leva, he said. The government approved a bill amending and supplementing the Civil Procedure Code, with which we essentially reintroduce mediation as a means of out-of-court dispute resolution, Georgiev announced. A mandatory information meeting is planned for persons who are being sued, which is not only a requirement under the Recovery Plan, but also a good practice that exists in all European legislation, the minister explained.
In addition to the fact that the judicial system is under a great burden, the main task here is to relieve citizens by explaining to them the benefits of reaching an out-of-court agreement. 85% of the fee they paid to the court will be returned to them when they reach an agreement as a result of this mediation procedure, Georgiev explained. The procedure covers over 12 different proceedings from family disputes to those for division. The division of inherited properties between multiple heirs continues for 6-8 years. All of this can be resolved in a much more beneficial way for everyone through mediation proceedings, Georgiev said. He informed that the bill has received approval from the relevant directorates of the European Commission so that it can be presented to the Bulgarian Parliament.