MINISTER OF JUSTICE GIVES SPEECH ON PROJECTED CRIMINAL AND CIVIL PROCEDURE CODES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00039R000200090024-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: R
• Document Page Count: 31
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 9, 2012
• Sequence Number: 24
• Publication Date: July 18, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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%ESi 1GTED
MINISTER OF JUSTICE GIVES SPEECH ON PROJ T D C W'1INAL ..?
PROCEDURE CODE$ -~ Sofia, Otechestven Front, 3 Feb 2
Yesterday at 1 OO hours the fifth regular session of the
National Assembly continued its work. The Vice-President of the
reau of the National Assembly, Iliya Radkov presided over the
meeting.
The People's Representatives unanimously adopted the pro-
posal of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Comrade Vulko
Chervenkov, for the election .of the following new members to the
government: Nikola Trayanov -- Chairman of the Office for State
Supply and Reserve, Demir Yanev -- the linister of National Edu-
cation, and Ruben Levi -- Chairman of the Committee for Science,
Art and Culture.
The new members of the Government were confirmed by the
The People's Representatives unanimously voted for a bill
to change and supplement the law on weights and measures.
Then the National Assembly considered the projected Civil
Speeches were made on the project by the Minister of
Justice, Radi Naydenov, People's Representative Ivan Chonos
on behalf of the Parliamentary Group of the Bulgarian Communist
Party BCP -~ and People's Representatives Yanko Markov -- on be-
half of the Parliamentary Group of the Bulgarian National Agrarian
S.r5'RGV''f:F~v~
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Union (BINS), after which the National Assembly unanimously adopted
the code.
T11en Iliya Radkov made a brief speech and declared the fifth
regular session of the National Assembly adjourned.
Speech of the Minister of Justice, Comrade Radi aydenov;
Comrades and People's Representatives;
In Article 3 of the law for the judicial system of the USSR
it says; t'In all its actions the court educates the citizens in
the spirit of devotion to the Motherland and the cause of socialism,
in the spirit of exact and steadfast execution of the law, of a
considerate attitude toward socialist property, in the spirit of
labor discipline, of an honorable attitude toward state and social
duty, and in the spirit of respect for the rules of the socialist
Society.tI
It must at once be added that in particular socialist crimi-
nal justice is that action of the court which is expressed in a
particular procedural form, and which is directed at the defense
of the established social structure and legal order by applying
the criminal laws of Bulgaria against traitors to the Motherland,
against those who injure and damage socialist property, and those
who commit other crimes. From this it is clear that the activity
of the court is of very great importance.
The basic purpose of criminal procedure is to discover who
is guilty of having committed a crime and to mete just punishment
to him.
the clarity, exactness, and flexibility of the procedural forms,
The attainment of this goal depends to a great extent on
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RESTRJTEfl
1. The principle of the people's participation in juxis
diction is one of the most important democratic principles through
which Bulgarian jurisdiction in criminal cases can be made demo
cratic. The J1garian principle of elected jurors was introduced
after the institution of the new law for the Formation of People's
Courts (UNS) in March 1911.8, with an amendment to the Law for
Criminal. Procedure of 1918. This principle was introduced into
the proposed project for absolutely every legal instance in
criminal and civil cases which is a first instance, through a new
amendment to the Law for the Formation of People's Court (ZUNS)
M-. reference: Paragraph 6 in ti ,;I VtiI }r a .~J';ra~'I7P ~ r ~f,bu+ ~:e r of Vlt yr, ?;r I I r:~'
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in the law, and the nature of the crime and its danger to society,
for this is the ritost characteristic and fundamental factor in every
crime, according to the socialist concept.
The serving of the sentence is arranged for to ensure the
educational effect of the punishment meted. The re-education of
the criminal so that he will observe the rules of the socialist
society is one of the chief objectives of jurisdiction.
According to the order instituted in the new law, criminal
cases will be examined before both general and special courts.
Therefore, it is both a general and a special procedural code for
criminal cases.
A special order is also provided for the examination of
cases against manors.
The format of the code is entirely new. Subjects are ar-
ranged according to importance and the connection between them;
the order is consistent, and this facilitates finding individual
principles and provisions.
The wording of the individual texts is clear, Strictly
legal language, which made comprehension of the law difficult,
has been avoided. This code can be comprehended not only by
specialists, but `by the broad masses of the people. However,
the preciseness and correctness of what has been formulated has
in no way been neglected.
The new Criminal Procedure Code will help in the disclosure
of crimes and the meting of just punishment to the criminals, in the
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education of the workers, in stimulating them to conscious obw
servance of the laws to adherence to state and labor discipline,
and to enthusiastic creative labor in the building of socialism
in b'ularia,
Naum Khristov, Member of the
Legislative Council at the
Mtnistry of Justice
END
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SPEECH OF THE MINISTER OF
JUSTCEr
Otechestven Front, Feb 2
Comrades, People's Representatives:
We propose for your approval the project for a new Civil
Procedure Code which will set forth the rules by which civil cases
will be tried by our People's Courts.
in laying down the principles and composing the text of the
project we have adhered to the principles of the Dimitrov Con-'
stitution, we have used the valuable experience of the Soviets.
We have had before us the procedure laws of Poland and
Czechoslovakia. We,have also taken our own conditions into
account.
The proposed project has )488 articles in which new material
is set forth, while revised laws, which settle earlier procedure
codes, amount to over 1,200 articles. It is understood that the
brevity of the code in no way detracts from its clarity.
Much could be said about the project, but T will ask your
attention on only the more important material or rather on new
postulates which have been instituted in our socialist Civil
Procedure Law.
The Bulgarian people's democratic state, which expresses
the will of the workers, is.interested in the proper application
of laws, in justiceo Even when the violation of a law infringes
upon private interests, the Bulgarian state cannot stand idly by,
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but must be vigilant through its officials. And therefore, the
procedure of a civil case can begin not only at the petition of
the party concerned but also at the request of the public prosew
cutor.
The courts should not be placed before which parties appear
to seek resolution of a dispute under civil law, to outstrip and
outwit one another while Justice hemis] sits idly by with her
eyes blindfolded. Therefore, the parties participating in the
trial of a case must exercise their procedural rights conscien-
tiously and conform to the rules of the socialist society.
The right to seek the protection of the court is fully
guaranteed to every person in the country. In addition, the
parties must be sure that the judges and jurors who take part in
their case will decide the dispute impartially and that they can
be removed if interested in the outcome of the case or if found
having special relations with the parties, which would cause
sound grounds for doubt as to their impartiality.
The principles of the ability to act and represent the
parties have been clarified and made more precise, and this will
make it possible to rectify omissions permitted in the ability to
act and represent. The lack of sufficient funds should not be
an obstacle to the citizens seeking the protection of their rights.
Therefore, the plan gives the Chairman of the okrug court and the
okoliya judge the right to free persons from having to pay taxes
and costs.
2-
WES.
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The comrpetency of the okoliya court is extended, because that
[court, which is closest to the workers must be developed into a
basic people t s Court.
Manifest is the care that has been established with regard
to socialist organization; for if it is disclosed in the trial
of a case that a state institution or enterprise or public organi-.
nation is interested in the decision, the court must inform the
organization concerned.
Evidence, including confession, is evaluated in its totality.
"Self confession" is uncrowned. It is no longer "the queen of
evidence" but only ordinary evidence, for one party can
, because
of its own considerations, confess on purpose to
harmful circum-
stances to it. Decisive oaths are abolished as incomplete and
dangerous evidential proof.
Citizens should know that they must put the agreements which
they conclude in written form, bec`u e this gives them a greater
guarantee of proving their case, which is in their interest.
Therefore, witnesses are not allowed in the settlement of agree-.
ments where the spun of money involved amounts to over 20a000 leva.
Objections to witnesses because of kinship and other reasons
are also not provided for but the testimonies of these witnesses
are evaluated with reference to all the other evidence in the case,
keeping in mind the possibility that they might be interested.
The Witnesses are not heard under oath but they gyve their
promise to tell the truth, and.the court reminds them that they
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~AESTRV~e'U
and the~peAple a.f f aund guilty of
must answer before the law
perjury.
and Wa.th regard to the a11.?s,r0und
For greater expediency
role which the cauxt has to play' the project axxanges for the
' s to be announced at the court session
deca.aIon and the motive
s concluded with the exception that in corn"
in whioh the case i
an ost one the announcement of its de"
Alex cases the court c p p
cision for 7 days.
In cases judged by the alcoliYa court, the court of appeaJ-s
in cases judged by the olcxug court the
is the akrug court, while
Supreme Court is the court of appeals. The court of appeals
'Sian and caseation. Only written evi~-
examines the case by revs.
' s are ermined to go before this court?
deuce and self~confess~an p
This is riot a formal and restructed appeal as was the cassation
is law y?Xich closed its eyes to even the
appeal under bourgeo ,
most obvious violations.
state organ which settles disputes having
The court is a
to do with civil rights and it should not be used as a place
uits b which parties settle their shady.
to stage the trumped ups y
;ions must be honest and open The pules
deals. Civil rights relat
this. Therefore, the project does not
of socialist society require
d u (false) cases, just as it does not
give protection to trumpe p
has been made in a trumped up case and
allow a decision which
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OTECNESTVEN FRONT, 16 FFB S2
The socialist nature of the new Bulgarian civil law prede-
termines the socialist nature of the Bulgarian Civil Procedure Code.
Its rules have been made in conformance with social democracy, the
interests of the workers, and the objectives of justice.
First of all the functions of the court are set forth in the
code. The court is obliged to examine and decide on every petition
made to it for the defense and aid of personal and property rights.
It must take an active part in the all-round clarification of the
actual rights and relations of the parties, in the establishment of
material truth. It directs the parties while fulfilling its pro-
cedural actions, in order that their interests may not be harmed
because of ignorance, illiteracy, or other reasons. The court must
point out to the parties that they have not brought forth evidence
for certain circumstances which are of importance in deciding the
case. It can also officially gather evidence.
The court, therefore, is not only the audience in the trial
of the case. It actively participates in clarifying the actual
relations, because the Bulgarian people's democratic state is
interested in the proper protection of personal and property rights,
and of the interests of the citizens, which are protected by law.
Therefore, only when the court considers a case absolutely cleared
up does it bring the debating to an end and deliver its decision.
It evaluates all the evidence in the case and the arguments of the
parties on the basis of its convictions, also. keeping in mind the
I
facts of importance in the law under dispute which have appeared
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ESrRacrEo
after the petition was submitted.
Justice is also meted through active participation of the
parties to whom the code grants and guarantees procedural rights.
But under fear of being held responsible for harm they might cause,
the parties must exercise these rights in good faith and in accord
ante with the rules of the socialist society. Emphasis is laid on
the fact that the parties are obliged to tell the truth before the
court. The parties can introduce new circumstances and search for
new evidence until the conclusion of the debating. Along with
this they are given the opportunity to exhaust all the evidence at
their disposal. The dispute between the parties must be exhausted
completely in the trial of the case. Therefore, the plaintiff can,
in every stage of the case in the first instance, change the grounds
of his suit, if the court deems it appropriate for the defense of
the defendant. The plaintiff can also, without changing his grounds,
increase, decrease, or change the amount of damages his is seeking.
And before the conclusion of the debating, he can also change his
suit from one which seeks settlement of damages to one in which
the defendant is punished. The parties must aid and abet the court
in good faith in clearing up the case.
Justice is also meted with the aid of other persons, such as
witnesses, etc., for which rules are also given -- first of all, in
cases where the testimony of witnesses is not permitted. No one
has the right to refuse to testify except the close relatives
explicitly mentioned in the code. Requests that witnesses be
barred for reasons of kinship or other causes are not provided
for, but the testimonies.of such witnesses are. evaluated by the
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court in relation to all the other data in the case, keeping in
mind the possibility of these people's interest in the case. The
witnesses do not have to take an oath, but they promise to tell
the truth, for they are reminded that they will have to answer be'
fore the law and the people if guilty of penury.
On the spot examinations and checkups are allowed not only
to check other evidence, but as independent evidence also. However,
in the mental test of a person, the court must act in such a way
that it will not inure his personal dignity.
Confessions by the parties are evaluated by the court with
respect to all the evidence in the case. The decisive oath is
abolished as inappropriate proof.
The trial of the case and a correct decision on it educates
the citizens. When a concrete civil rights case is settled properly
on the basis of the application of Bulgarian socialist laws to the
letter of the law, the court will show the power and importance
of these very laws. It is in this way that the court educates the
citizens to have respect for, and faith in, Bulgarian socialist
laws as a powerful means of safeguarding and protecting the in-
terests of the people?s democratic state and the workers. There-
fore, the code provides that the trial of the case as a rule, be
held verbally at an open session and that the decision and motives
be announced by the president at the session of the court at which
the trial of the case is concluded. At the same time, the people's
supervision of the action of the court is realized.
The rules for the procedure before the court of appeals are
precise and clear. By these rules the court of appeals becomes a
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fiEST CT EU
does not have tv send
cassatton court, which
zeal xeV~,sa.an and
g1arin v1o1atione
hel less7.y by before and that are permitted, but
deC~,sa.an
p ate
0b1a.gated to the re g1axitY of the
a.nveStig e back
is offa.cially
in its decision and sends the cos
entirety ? It reYokes the men essential
ecisiox~ contradicts the law,
a new trial when the d
for
proced athexed is insuff~?
violated, when the evidence g '
~axal ryes are The people s
c ?
no grounds for the decision1
and when there are n~.ent~ . 'therefore, it
is given ?c state cannot permit irregular deaa.sa.ans ar de p
democrat. rrect it, for an irreg~
this broad possibility to co
into effect if the
evoked even after it has gone
cisi?n can be r and the president'of the
of the People' s Republ~-c
Chief Prosecutor
Supreme Court so propose.
The code of racedure for special
states in detail, rules p
racedure
newly introduced into the p
s . The f ollaw~-ng have been
case
for matr' edings for a divorce case
m0 nia7. cases : Before the prace
~. the okoliya judge
ion proceedings, in which
there are reCOnc~.la.at
must Lions of the parties
v to the explana
not restrict himself onlY relations
in the case, but must himself trY to clarify the actual
e
a.ves for the divorce l
and establish the real mot ivorce,
between them an erious grounds for d
canvinCed that there are no s ?r motives
the court is rounds in then.
the parties the lack of g
it must explain to
or divorce Proceedings for
m to make a reconciliation.
fe and help the
?thau .~ an attestation to the
case cannot be conducted ~'
a divorce
onducted for a recancilia a,on
effect .have been
that the proceedings c
Y
unsucces cult for divorce based sale on the
sful-~ In add~t~-on, a a
if the ether spouse insists
aintiff cannot be honored
guilt of the pl
.
that the e marriage be preserved
PEST tUCTE
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~ESrRicr~~
In the temporary decrees of the code, Article Lth of the
law for persons and families, which permitted divorce if the parties
firmly and seriously agreed to it, has been revoked. Under this
law, divorce was misused. It was revoked because it resulted in a
frivolous attitude toward marriage.
In the part on legal partition certain instances have been
set forth in a new way; instances in which there is, among the
property, a house which cannot be divided with one of the co-heirs
and his spouse having no home of their own. At the petition of the
co-heir the court gives him the house as his share and divides the
rest of the inheritance among the remaining co-heirs; in shares
equal to the first co-heir's, if such an equal di.s tribution is not
possible, it makes payment for their shares.
Confiscatiorj. by administrative decree provides, among other
things, for the sale of movable chattel, by bargain stores of the
state trade enterprises if such stores do not exist, the chattel
is sold through other stores of the state or trade enterprise.
The sale is made for 90 percent of the amount at which the chattel
was evaluated.
Last of all protective and notary procedures are set forth
for the establishment of facts of legal importance and others, and
also notary procedure.
The new Civil Procedure Code, published in the twelfth issue
of 'the Izvestiya of the Presidium of the National Assembly of 8 Feb
52, went into effect on 12 Feb 52, It will be strictly implemented
by the People's Courts of Bulgaria and will aid in the formation of
socialist legal consciousness and the strengthening of socialist legality.
Kahn Tsakov, Member of the Legislative
Council of the Ministry of Justice
RESTfi;
TED
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