DEVELOPMENT OF MEDIATION IN BULGARIA FOR THE PERIOD 2017-2022 - TENDENCIES AND PERSPECTIVES

Elitsa Todorova, PhD Student

Department of Social and Legal Sciences Technical University of Varna, Bulgaria

Abstract

The objective of this report is to examine the development of the mediation institute for the period 2017- 2022 in the Republic of Bulgaria. Due to the lack of a legal obligation to maintain statistics by the Ministry of Justice on the conducted mediation procedures and success rates, until now there was no available data on mediation in Bulgaria, despite the fact that it has been legally regulated since 2004. In implementation of a project financed by the state budget, statistical data were collected by conducting a survey in all courts in Bulgaria, in which mediation centers have been established and in organizations registered under the Mediation Act and conducting the procedure. The methods used for the study are analysis of administrative records, survey, comparison, induction, deduction, generalizations and conclusions. Some of the results of the study are as follows: the number of mediation procedures conducted increases significantly every year, except for the period of COVID-19; out-of-court mediation is on the rise during the global pandemic; in terms of the agreements reached in mediation - the success rate is almost twice as great in the pre-trial phase as compared to the mediation carried out in the judicial phase; the majority of practicing mediators are lawyers by education. In conclusion, the tendencies are for an increase in the number of lawyers practicing mediation and a significant increase in the number of mediation procedures, both due to the promotion of the procedure in Bulgarian society by the government and non-governmental organizations. The perspectives are towards even wider and more successful application of mediation as a way to resolve disputes both out of court and within judicial proceedings and its imposition as a new culture of communication.

Keywords

Mediation, Bulgaria, Global pandemic, COVID-19, Statistical data, Survey

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