The injunction procedure is a long established institute of Bulgarian civil procedural law. Introduced in Bulgaria for the first time by the Order Procedure Act of 1897, it is regulated as part of the claim process. Today, injunction proceedings are a separate process that aims to offer a simplified procedure before the court, allowing the creditor to quickly and efficiently collect his claim.
The speed and ease of the injunction procedure make it increasingly preferred among creditors compared to the longer, more expensive and cumbersome litigation process. At the heart of injunctive proceedings is the possibility of shortening the path to enforcement in cases where the debtordoes not dispute the creditor's claim against him. In such proceedings, the judicial authority shall check only compliance with the formal requirements at the initiation of the proceedings, without considering the substance of the dispute. In the event that the creditor has complied with the statutory procedure for initiating the injunction procedure, the court, within three daysfrom the receipt of the application for the issuance of a writ of execution, issues a writ of execution or writ of execution. In the absence of a written objection from the debtor, filed within the statutory period, the enforcement order enters into force. There is no exchange of court papersbetween the parties, no forensic experts are appointedand No witnesses are heard. In addition, no court hearings are heldand no evidence is collectedWhat is at the heart of the fundamental differences between the injunction procedure and the contested claim process. In addition to an expedited procedure, injunction cases are also distinguished by lower court costscompared to cases brought under the action order. The creditor pays a state fee, which amounts to 2% of the amount of the claimed obligation, which is half the fee due in claims proceedings. Given the stated advantages, it is no surprise to anyone that the number of injunction proceedings is not just large, it is significant. In 2023, the injunction cases filed under Art. 410 and Art. 417 of the Civil Code are a total of 163 293, which is 42% of all civil cases initiated. In addition, the analysis of the distribution of cases shows that the main burden in considering this type of case is concentrated in the larger district courts. This phenomenon has a negative impact on the efficiency of judicial activity and leads to the prolongation of the claim process and the neglect of one of the fundamental situations in civil law — the consideration and resolution of cases within a reasonable time (Article 13 of the Civil Code).
In order to prevent the long-term consideration of legal disputes of citizens and businesses in large cities, where the involvement of the courts is significantly higher, the legislative amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure adopted on July 1, 2024 provide for the computerization of injunction proceedings, as well as a centralized distribution of cases between district courts throughout the country.The innovations aim to optimise the legal framework by means of the following amendments:
AND. The new provision of Article 409a), paragraph 1 of the GPC provides that “All procedural actions in the injunction proceedings are carried out in electronic form and all acts of the court in the proceedings, including writ of executionand a writ of execution, shall be issued in electronic form, except where this Chapter expressly provides otherwise. 'Applications for the issuance of a writ of execution and their annexes will be available at Single e-Justice Portal (EPEP)using an electronic form. It is important to emphasize that after submitting an application for the issuance of a writ of execution in electronic format, all subsequent procedural actions of the applicant should be carried out only electronically. An electronic execution order will be issued in EPEP, as well as an electronic execution sheet. By way of exception, actions on the appeal of acts under Chapter 37 of the GPC (injunction proceedings), as well as proceedings under Art. 422-424 of the GPC, may also be carried out in writing on paper.
A certain group of subjects may submit applications only electronically. This includes persons under Art. 50, para. 5 and Art. 52, para. 2 GPK—”creditand financial institutions, including those carrying out collection of receivablesagainst users; insurance and reinsurance companies, traders engaged in the supply of energy, gas or the provision of postal, electronic communications or water and sewerage services; notaries and private bailiffs; government agencies and municipalities.” All other participants in the civil turnover, including expressly excluded from the scope of the restriction traders and persons represented by a lawyerThey have an alternative opportunity to choice between one of the two options for carrying out the production, either on paper or in electronic form. The objectionagainst the issued execution order under art. 414 GPK can be filed both in paper form, to any district court in the country, as well as electronically through the Single e-Justice Portal.
II. A fundamental step forward related to the changes from 01.07.2024 is the amendment of the rules on gender jurisdiction. With the introduction of paragraph 6 of Art. 410, applicants were given the opportunity to submit a written application for the issuance of a writ of execution, in any district court in the territory of the country, with the exception of applications for the issuance of an enforcement order under Article 417, paragraph 1, item 3 and item. 6 GPK, i.e. where the claim is based on”a notarial deed, agreement or other contract, with notarization of signatures, pledge agreements, mortgage deeds, promissory notes, bills of exchange or documents equivalent thereto. ' In such cases, applications shall be submitted to the District Court at the applicant's current address or registered office, or, if there is none, at his permanent address. This amendment to the familiar rules on gender jurisdiction aims at a centralized distribution of cases of this kind at random, among all District Judges in the country. The update will ease the work of the busiest courts and achieve an even distribution of cases of this kind, in accordance with the employment of the relevant court. The Judiciary of those formed under Art. 422 of the Civil Code claims proceedings,in relation to injunctive cases, remains unchanged, namely — District Court with the defendant's permanent address, resp. registered office.
III. In the event of an objection lodged by the debtor against the enforcement order issued against him within the time limit, the court shall instruct the applicant to bring an action for the establishment of his claim. In the previous version of Article 415 (5) of the GPC, the court required the applicant to submit evidence of the injunctive action brought against the debtor to the court of order, in order to prevent the invalidation of the writ of execution or the writ of execution. The amended norm of Art. 415 para. 5 of the GPC no longer obliges the applicant to submit evidence to the court of order for a declaratory action brought within one month, and instead, the court of order should monitor the relevant legal fact ex officio. Moreover, in the event of an objection filed within the time limit and an action brought under Article 422 of the Civil Code, the enforcement order enters into force after the court decision establishing the claim enters into force, and the court of claim is already entrusted with the obligation to issue the writ of execution, as opposed to the rule in the previous legislation, which instructed the court to issue the writ of execution.
There is also a change in the rules concerning the writ of execution. A new rule has been adopted for issuing an electronic writ of execution,which covers not only enforcement orders that have entered into force, but also all enforceable grounds under Art. 404 GPK. The provision of Article 408, paragraph 1 of the GPC states that”the writ of execution is issued in electronic form and signed by a judge of the relevant court. Where the issue of a writ of execution in electronic form is not possible, a writ of execution shall be issued in a single copy on paper. ' The writ of execution will be signed electronically and registered in a specialized electronic system of the respective court, where it will receive a unique identifier and date. It is this unique registry number that will be contained later in the claimant's application for the initiation of an enforcement action to the bailiff.
We can conclude that the new legislative changes, which entered into force on July 1, 2024, represent a significant step forward in the optimization of the order process in Bulgaria. With the automation of procedural actions and documents, and the implementation of a centralized distribution of cases, the aim is to significantly speed up and facilitate procedures, which will improve the efficiency and quality of justice. The changes should reduce the burden on larger courts and make it easier for citizens and businesses to access justice, while at the same time ensuring a higher degree of transparency and fairness.
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