Research on the publication of court decisions and other court documents in Bulgaria


I.

- The task is designed for a work load of 2 hours. 


- It is a basic research question that does not require a specific knowledge with regards to a specific domain (other than basic research). Still knowledge about the relevant legal system and access to legal databases used in Bulgaria may be but do not necessarily have to be of an advantage. 


- In addition to the research by yourself you should also write an e-mail to the relevant public legal authority in Bulgaria with the questions listed above asking to send the answers to the following e-mail-adress: frido.meier(at)posteo.de (the "at" has to be replaced by @).

II. The following questions should be answered (in any event the questions 1, 4 and 5 ougth to be answered):

1.

a) How many Bulgarian court decisions are publicly available (i.e. not behind a paywall) in Bulgaria (round about)?
(Additionally: Are there differences with regards to the courts? e.g. are court decisions of higher courts or with regards to specific legal domains as civil or criminal law more likely to be made publicly available?)

b) What is the legal basis for the publishment of court decisions in Bulgaria (e.g. is it derived from the constituiton or a "normal" law?)?

c) Are other court documents (e.g. briefs of the parties, expert statements, videos of the hearing) made publicly available (i.e. not behind a paywall)?

d) Who is publishing the Bulgarian court decisions and other court documents that are made publicly available (i.e. not behind a paywall) in Bulgaria (e.g. the courts themselves, a public entity, a private entity, etc.?)

2.

a) How many Bulgarian court decisions are available in Bulgaria that are behind a paywall (round about)?

b) Are other court documents (e.g. briefs of the parties, expert statements, videos of the hearing) available but behind a paywall)?

c) Who are the core providers that publish court decisions or other court documents behind a paywall in Bulgaria?

3. Is the Bulgarian government or parliament planning to publish more court decisions or other court documents (e.g. briefs of the parties, expert statements, videos of the hearing)?
If so: How (e.g. for free?; in which format?; will the personal data of i.a. the parties, lawyers, judges be anonymised?; via which entity will these documents be made available?) and why are they planning it?

4. Is there a general debate about the greater publishment of court decisions (or even other court data as the briefs of the parties, expert statements, a video of the hearing, etc.) in Bulgaria?
If so: What are core positions in the debate?

5. Is there a debate about the prohibition or regulation of the data analysis of judges with regards to a greater publishment of court decisions or other court documents (e.g. briefs of the parties, expert statements, videos of the hearing) in Bulgaria?

III. Please always link the answers to the questions listed above to the sources that name the answer. The sources used should generally be publicly accessible (in this case the link should be named) and if not should be attached in the form of a pdf.

IV. The answers should be delivered in written english and in the form of a word-doc (Microsoft Office or Libre Office) or pages-doc (Apple) and pdf. You can use the attached word-doc to fill in the answers and sources. The length of the answers is up to you but should answer the questions in an appropriate way. 



V. The due date is the 28.02.2022 (24:00 your time).

VI. Thanks a lot! You are a great person!