site.btaCode of Civil Procedure Revised, Introducing Compulsory Information Meeting for Mediation

The Bulgarian National Assembly on Friday passed on second reading a Government-proposed bill to amend and supplement the Code of Civil Procedure introducing a compulsory information meeting for mediation in certain civil and commercial cases. The bill is part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan legislative package amendments.

Under the legislation, any litigant who fails to attend a compulsory information meeting for mediation without a valid reason or refuses to attend when ordered to do so by the court will be liable to a fine. Mediation will be used in 11 groups of cases, including cases of personal property management and use, real estate loans, distribution of inheritance and divorce cases.

Justice Minister Georgi Georgiev said earlier in June that in 2024, 30%, or roughly one-third, of cases that went to mediation were successfully resolved through this process. "While that is not a particularly impressive result, it shows potential," he said, explaining the rationale behind introducing a compulsory information meeting, which he described as "a consultation intended to highlight the benefits of mediation." He underlined that the changes do not introduce obligatory mediation.