Bar associations in 18 cities in the country have rejected the Ministry of Justice's proposal to increase the legal aid budget by 5.27 million leva and are continuing the strike that began on June 1. In a detailed position to the justice department, they explain why they consider the proposal unacceptable and why they want a radical reform of the system, writes Lex.bg.
The strike is underway in Blagoevgrad, Burgas, Vidin, Gabrovo, Dobrich, Kardzhali, Kyustendil, Lovech, Pazardzhik, Pernik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Silistra, Smolyan, Sliven, Sofia, Haskovo and Yambol, and it is expected that the associations in Varna and Ruse will also join it. Since the beginning of the month, the bar councils have not appointed official and reserve defenders, lawyers on duty and special representatives.
Despite the draft amendment to the Regulation on the Payment of Legal Aid sent by the Ministry of Justice, the Sofia Bar Council and other associations state that the draft does not satisfy their demands for several key reasons.
First, the proposed increase is "insignificant" and takes into account only the inflation index, which reflects the prices of consumer goods such as food and beverages, without taking into account that legal work is a highly skilled activity. In the period from 2006 to the present, the minimum wage has increased by 673 percent, and the index for employers' total labor costs by 878 percent, but these data are not taken into account by the project.
Secondly, the proposed salaries do not correspond to the salaries of other legal professions in the administration of justice, such as judges and prosecutors. "Initially, the state accepts that lawyers hear cases only formally and superficially without participating in court sessions or presenting extensive legal arguments", the bar associations point out.
The bar associations present specific calculations, comparing their salaries with those of judges. The average monthly salary of a judge in the country amounts to 8,393 leva, which is equivalent to an average hourly wage of 47.68 leva per hour. For lawyers, this hourly fee should be at least 148 leva per hour excluding VAT, after deducting expenses and insurance.
For example, in an administrative case under the VAT Act with a judge's involvement of 33.6 hours, the lawyer's fee should be 4972.80 leva. However, the same case is now paid to the lawyer with 100 to 240 leva. In a criminal case for a crime against the person, where the judge's involvement is 22.4 hours, the lawyer's fee should be 3315.20 leva, but is now paid from 150 to 420 leva.
The third main problem is that the submitted project does not provide for an immediate effect, but postpones the entry into force from January 1, 2026. "This means another year of extremely low fees", the lawyers emphasize.
Fourth, the project does not solve other significant problems such as the lack of information on the final amounts of fees from the National Legal Aid Bureau, the lack of a payment deadline and the significant delay in processing the reports.
The bar associations also put forward legal arguments for discrimination, referring to Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 and the Bulgarian Law on Protection against Discrimination. They also cite a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union of February 25, 2025, according to which budget restrictions "cannot be specifically targeted only at members of national courts".
"While budget restrictions have been applied to lawyers to reduce or freeze their remuneration for the last almost 20 years, a significant increase in salaries has been reported for magistrates' salaries almost annually", the associations point out. In 2025 alone, the judiciary budget includes a 16 percent increase in the salaries of judges and prosecutors.
According to lawyer data, out of approximately 6,200 lawyers in Sofia, only 1,690 are registered to provide legal aid, and of these, 280 people are temporarily inactive. There are proceedings with over 10 consecutive refusals by lawyers to take on the defense, which leads to significant delays in the cases.
The minimum fees have remained unchanged since 2006 - a consultation for filing a case costs 10 leva, preparation of documents 15 leva, a lawyer on duty receives 60 leva, and defense in cases for crimes punishable by probation or a fine - 50 leva for the pre-trial phase and 60 leva for the trial phase.
"Over the past 10 years, the legal profession has borne the enormous burden of supporting and financing the legal aid system and is practically doing volunteer work", conclude the protesting lawyers.
The strike will continue until the demands for a doubling of salaries and the creation of a working group for reforms in the period 2026-2030 are met.