Supreme Court Chair Urges Revision of Court Fees in Bulgaria

VKS Chair Lazar Gruev has called for a revision of court fees in Bulgaria without specifying whether the rates should go up or down. Photo by BGNES

Court fees in Bulgaria must be reconsidered, said Lazar Gruev, Chair of the Supreme Court of Cassation (VKS) after taking part in the annual conference of the Network of Presidents of the Supreme Judicial Courts of the Member States of the European Union.

The VKS Chair informed that court fees accounted for ? of the judiciary's budget but did not specify whether their current rates should be increased or decreased.

At the same time, Irmgard Gris, President of the Austrian Supreme Court, said that court fee revenues covered 100% of the budget of the country's judiciary, given that their rates were among the highest in Europe.

Gruev insisted that the amount of the court fee must match the service offered.

"Neither increasing, nor reducing court fees are a must. The rates must simply be reconsidered because the cassational appeal and its hearing by a 3-judge panel of the supreme court, which is very serious work,  entails a fee of BGN 30, or EUR 15," the VKS Chair argued.

Gruev went on to explain that Bulgaria's judiciary was relatively balanced because it allowed for exemptions from court fees for certain social groups.

In Austria the majority of people resort to insurances to cover court expenses, Irmgard Gris said.

Regarding the share of the judiciary's budget in the different EU member states, the figure is at its lowest in Wales and England, where the system uses up 0.14% of the GDP, while in Bulgaria it accounts for 0.26% of the GDP.

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