(1) This Act shall regulate all matters related to the acquisition and loss of rights as attorney at law as well as the practice and organization of the profession of attorney.

(2) The practice of the profession of attorney is a constitutional activity involving legal service and defence of freedoms, rights and lawful interests of natural and juridical persons. It is implemented on the principles of independence, selfmenagment and self-financing.

(1) Only a person entered on the registers of the respective Attorney College shall be deemed an attorney.

(2) The rights of attorney are acquired and the profession of attorney practiced by the candidate from the time of registration in the Attorney College.

(3) The attorneys may practice individually or may form association and firms.

(1) The Attorney Council checks whether the conditions set out in Articles 3 and 4 have been satisfied with regard to entry of the name of the candidate on the register of the College and adopts a motivated ordinance.

(2) the ordinance is communicated in writing to the candidate and the Control Council of the Attorney Colleague. It may be appealed by Control Council or the candidate with regard to its lawfulness before the
Supreme Attorney Council within two weeks of receipt.

(3) The complaint is considered in the presence of the candidate at the first meeting of the Supreme Attorney Council which pronounces itself on it. A representative of the Supreme Control Council may be present at the meeting.

(4) The decision of the Supreme Attorney Council may be appealed within two weeks of communication in accordance with the procedure laid dawn in the Law on Administrative Proceedings before the Supreme Court of Appeal.

(1) After the ordinance or decision enters into force the candidate takes an oath, if he had not taken an oath as a trainee-attorney and his name is entered on the register of the respective Attorney College.

(2) The candidate shall take the following oath before the Attorney Council: "I do solemnly swear that I will scrupulously execute the office of attorney (trainee-attorney) in accordance with the Constitution, the laws of the Republic and morality, that I will be worthy of the trust and respect essential for my calling, and that through my bearing during its execution and within society I will preserve the dignity of the courts and governing bodies and will not betray the confidentiality of my clients."

(3) The attorney shall sign a certificate of oath.

(1) The attorney shall defend the rights and lawful interests of his clients by:

(2) The parties may be represented or defended before the Supreme Court of Appeal only by an attorney with over five years length of service in this capacity or the same term spent as judge, prosecutor or equal in stature juridical experience.

(1) The attorney shall be on an equal footing with the judges as concerns the respect owed to him and shall receive the same cooperation as the judge before the courts, jurisdictions, administrative and other offices in the country.

(2) If the attorney has not been accorded the needed respect and cooperation in the process of or with regard to the execution of his duties, the Council of Attorneys on its own initiative or up on his request, shall empower one of its members to investigate the case together with a representative of the respective judicial or administrative body, selected by the person in charge of the latter.

(3) The Council of Attorneys shall inform the person in charge of the judicial or administrative body in writing with about the case in order that a representative may be chosen who shall take part in the investigation. The person in charge is obliged to select a representative within the period of seven days.

(4) If within the period designated above a representative has not been named the Council of Attorneys shall carry out the investigation through its own representative.

(1) If the Council of Attorneys decides on the basis of the report from the investigation that there is a case of wrongful behaviour, it makes a recommendation for the initiation of disciplinary proceedings against the judge or prosecutor or for the application of a disciplinary sanction against the respective official by the person in charge of the administrative body or office.

(2) The application or refusal to apply a disciplinary sanction does not represent an impediment for the attorney to seek redress by the normal process.

(1) The attorney shall not have the right to abandon a defence which he has undertaken unless there are valid reasons for this and payment shall be forwarded with regard to his work up to the abandonment. Should the attorney abandon the case for no valid reasons, the payment forwarded by the client shall be remitted to the latter.

(2) In the cases envisaged in the preceding paragraph the attorney is obliged to inform his client in due time in order that the latter may organize his defence.

(1) In cases of discord related to the refusal defence, the attorney, respectively the clients, are obliged to state their reasons in a motivated statement to the Council of Attorneys.

(2) The statement shall be examined within twenty four hours by the chairman or deputy chairman of the Council of Attorneys who rule as to the validity of the refusal and the amount of the remuneration for services rendered.

(1) The attorney's papers and files shall be inviolable and can not be subject to investigation or confiscation.

(2) The correspondence between the attorney and his client shall be inviolable, shall not be subjected to investigation or used as evidence.

(1) The attorney is obliged to perform his duties diligently, and through his behaviour in executing them and even when not on duty should be worthy of the trust and respect of the community.

(2) While conducting a suit, the attorney shall not employ methods, aimed at procrastinating or creating unnecessary obstacles for the other party as demanded by law and the ethics of the profession.

(3) The attorney shall demonstrate due respect for the letter of the Law, the judicial bodies and government bodies and shall foster a spirit of fellowship with his colleagues.

(4) The attorney owes respect and cooperation to the Attorneys Council bodies, the Supreme Attorney Council, the Supreme Control Council and the Supreme Disciplinary Court.

(1) The ruling of the court to order an official client is announced before the Attorney College, which appoints an attorney to take up the defence.

(2) The attorney is obliged to appear as fiduciary or defence counsel when he is officially appointed by the court or the bodies of preliminary investigation.

(1) The attorney may not at the same time appear as representative of both sides in a given case, as well as accept the same case from one side and then the other unless their interests do not clash or the parties have offered their consent. he may not represent or defend one party where in the same case he had previously given legal advice to the other party.

(2) The attorneys who are partners may not defend or represent both parties. In criminal cases they may not represent defendants with clashing interests.

(1) The attorney shall not appear as fiduciary or defence counsel in a case, if he has appeared as judge, member of the jury, prosecutor or investigator in the said case or if a spouse, relative in direct line of descent without exceptions, up to the forth degree in direct descent or the third by marriage has appeared as such.

(2) The attorney shall not enter personally or through a third party into transactions with his client aimed at acquiring property or rights which form the subjectmatter of the case.

(1) The attorney is owed remuneration for his work which is determined of the basis of a written contract with the client.

(2) In the absence of a written contract the amount of the remuneration is determined accordance with the ordinance of the Supreme Attorney Council.

(3) The remuneration agreed upon in the contract may not be less than that envisaged in the ordinance with regard to the particular work.

(1) In order to collect payments stemming from unpaid fees, the attorney, may acquire an execution order.

(2) The execution order is issued on the basis of a decision of the Attorney Council, a copy of the contract, certified by the Council and a written invitation to the client to voluntarily pay up the sum.

(3) The payments entered on the execution order may be contested in accordance with the procedure laid dawn in the Code of Civil Procedure with regard to the contesting execution orders issued with regard ordinances from non-judicial bodies.

(1) The attorney shall render free legal aid to:

(2) Attorney may render free legal services to relatives and friends and to other lawyers.

(1) The training of a person who has completed higher education in law, shall be carried out at a court or with an attorney. The duration of the training shall be one year.

(2) Be exception, with valid reasons being present, the Attorneys Council may terminate or extend the period of training.

(1) The candidate files an application with the Attorney Council. Attached to the application shall be proof of Law degree, certificate for no previous convictions and a medical certificate.

(2) The Attorney Council selects an attorney-patron, unless in the application the candidate has specified a particular patron and the latter has given his consent.

(3) The attorney-patron shall have at least ten years practical experience.

(4) The attorney-patron may be changed only by a ruling of the Attorney Council.

(1) The Attorney Council checks whether the candidate satisfies the preliminary conditions for training and makes an argumented pronouncement. The pronouncement is communicated in writing to the candidate.

(2) In cases of refusal to issue a permission for training, the pronouncement may be appealed before the Supreme Attorney Council within two weeks from communication and is examined at its first session.

(1) The trainee is entered in the register of trainee-attorneys at the Attorney Council after taking the attorney oath in accordance with Art.7, para 2.

(2) The trainee-attorney signs a certificate of oath taking.

(1) After completion of the first half of his term the trainee may be allowed by the Attorney Council on report from the attorney-patron to appear, along with the patron, in cases at courts of first instance.

(2) In cases where the trainee-attorney appears, he shall prepare a file separately from the patron.

(1) After completion of the training, the Attorney Council assigns a commission made up of three attorneys who have the right to be patrons to evaluate work and preparation of the various documents carried out by the trainee. The commission issues a report assessing the practical work of the trainee, which along with the opinion of the patron is presented to the Attorney Council. The council issues a motivated pronouncement on whether the training has been successful.

(2) When the Council decides that the training has not been successful, it extends the training by not more than six months. The trainee is not paid during the additional period. If even after that extension the Council decides that the training has not been successful, the trainee-attorney is struck off the register of trainee-attorneys.

(3) The ordinance for striking the trainee-attorney from the register by the Attorney Council may be appealed in accordance with the procedure laid dawn in art.42, para 2.

(1) the regions, number and the seats of the attorney colleges, the creation of new ones and the closing down of existing ones are determined by the Supreme Attorney Council.

(2) Only one attorney college may by established at the seat of one district court.

(1) The Attorney College is juridical person and is comprised by the attorney entered on its register.

(2) The bodies of the Attorney College are: the General Assembly the Control Council and the Disciplinary Court.

(1) The regular General Assembly of the College shall be convened annually on the last Saturday and Sunday of January.

(2) The General Assembly shall be convened by the Attorney Council by a written personal invitation which shall be sent a month in advance. The agenda shall be set out in the invitation.

(3) If 20 days before the date of the meeting of the General Assembly, one third of the College's members request in writing that a certain issue be entered on the agenda, the Attorney Council is obliged to do so.

(4) The General Assembly shall be held if two thirds of the members are present or represented. If there is no quorum the meeting is postponed for an hour and is then held irrespective of the number of attorneys present.

(5) Decisions are adopted by simple majority: half plus one of attending persons.

(6) Voting is personal or by an authorized representative. The signature on the authorization for representation shall not be certified.

(7) A single attorney may not represent more than three attorneys in the College. The authorization shall be presented to the chairman or secretary of the attorneys Council before the beginning of the meeting.

(8) Voting is not secret except in elections for bodies of the Attorney College.

(1) An extraordinary Council Assembly is convened by decision of the Attorney Council, the Control Council or by written request of one third of the members of the Attorney College.

(2) If the Attorney Council does not schedule an extraordinary General Assembly within fourteen days of receipt of the request it is obligatorily convened by the Supreme Attorney Council.

(3) The extraordinary General Assembly is convened and is held in accordance with the procedure laid dawn in Art.54.

(4) The extraordinary General Assembly may decide on all matters which have been brought up between the session of the regular General Assemblies.

(1) the decisions of the General Assembly may by appealed before the Supreme Attorney Council. The application for appeal shall be entered within two weeks of the date of adoption of the decision.

(2) Each attorney may join the application for appeal under para 1 and may sustain it even after the original applicant has withdrawn it.

(3) The Supreme Attorney Council may, before having ruled on the application, suspend the execution of the decision of the General Assembly.

(1) The Attorney Council shall have the following composition:

(2) In the number of principal members shall be included the chairman of the Attorney Council.

(3) Entitled to election as members of the Attorney Council shall be all attorneys who have had at least five years in practice, and as chairman - ten years in practice.

(1) Within seven days of the election the Attorney Council of five members shall elect a secretary. The other Attorney Councils shall elect a deputy chairman and a secretary.

(2) the attorneys Council may form subsidiary bodies, which are headed by a member of the Council.

(3) The Attorney Council is convened by the chairman at least once every month. It may be convened for an extraordinary meeting on a written request of one third of the regular members within a period of seven days. If the request is not granted the Council is convened by the Supreme Attorney Council and is chaired by one of its members.

(4) The meeting is deemed regular if two thirds of the members of the Attorney Council are present. Decisions are adopted by majority of principal members present. If the votes are evenly divided the vote of the chairman decides.

(1) The members of the Attorney Council who for valid reasons are prevented from executing their duties or have left shall be substituted until their return, respectively till the end of their mandate, by the reserve members in order of seniority.

(2) The reserve members have the right to vote when they are asked to replace or substitute for principal members of the Attorney Council.

(3) In cases where the chairman, deputy chairman and the secretary are prevented to attend for valid reasons, they shall be substituted until their return as follows:

(4) When the chairman,, deputy chairman or the secretary leave the Attorney Council elects a new chairman, deputy chairman or secretary from among the principal members of the Council.

(1) the Chairman of the Attorney Council shall organize, manage and be responsible for the overall work of the Council.

(2) The Chairman of the Attorney Council shall perform the duties stemming from this Act, and from the decisions and rulings of the General Assembly of the College.

(1) The Control Council shall be composed of:

(2) Attorneys with over five years of practice may be elected members of the Control Council.

(1) The Control Council oversees the financial and economic activities of the College and reports on its activities to the regular General Assembly.

(2) When is ascertains breaches of the law, the decisions and rulings of the Supreme Attorney Council and the decisions of the General Assembly, the Control Council shall prepare a report which it shall present to the Supreme Attorney Council.

(3) Members of the Control Council may participate in the meetings of the Attorney Council.

(1) The Disciplinary court shall consists of:

(2) The Chairman of the Disciplinary Court is included in its membership

(3) Attorneys with over five years of practice may be elected members of the Disciplinary Court, and an attorney with not less then 10 years of practice - as chairman.

(1) The election in connection with art.71 is secret with ballots prepared in advance on which the full names of the candidate for chairman of the Attorney Council and the Disciplinary Court, for principal and reserve members of the Council and for members of the Control Council and the Disciplinary Court.

(2) Ballot papers shall be deemed invalid when more names remain on the list than the number fixed by the General Assembly for members of the Attorney Council, the Disciplinary Court and the Control Council.

(1) If one of the College bodies has not been elected, an additional election shall be held on the first Sunday of February.

(2) When holding an additional election for chairman of the Attorney Council and chairman of the Disciplinary Court, only the names of the two persons who have received the greatest number of votes in the first election shall be entered in the ballot.

(1) The elections are conducted by an election committee composed of a chairman and two members, who do not run up for election and have been elected by voting by the regular General Assembly. The electoral committee conducts also the additional election.

(2) The regular General Assembly elects by open ballot voting bureaux composed of three members.

(3) The ballot boxes are sealed before the commencement of voting by the electoral committee in the presence of two voters whose names are entered in the election protocol.

(4) After the end of voting the election committee prepares a protocol on which is entered the fact that the ballot boxes are sealed and that voting has ended.

(5) The opening of the ballot boxes takes place in the presence of two voters whose names are entered in the protocol. The counting of the ballots is performed openly by the election bureaux.

(6) The election bureau prepares a protocol about the results of the voting and count and presents it to the electoral committee together with all the ballots. It in turn prepares a protocol with which it summarizes and announces the final results.

(7) The protocol shall contain the overall number of votes, the number of valid and invalid ballots and the number of votes cast for each candidate.

(8) In the closing part of the protocol the names of the elected chairman and members of the Attorney Council, the chairman and members of the Disciplinary Court and the members of the Control Council together with the number of votes they had received are entered. The protocol is signed by the chairman and the members of the electoral committee and is displayed in a prominent place in the Attorney Council on the first working day following election day.

(1) After the end of the elections, the electoral committee arranges the valid and invalid ballots and seals them in the ballot boxes.

(2) The ballots are preserved until the time when the elections are declared valid and are subsequently destroyed by the newly elected Attorney Council.

(1) Voting is obligatory. Those who have failed to vote for no valid reason and those who have been suspended from voting because of debts are fined 300 levs.

(2) The fine is levied by the Chairman of the Council on the basis of the election protocol. It may be refuted by the Attorney Council if valid grounds exist for this.

(1) If the elections for Attorney College bodies are deemed not in accordance with the law by the Supreme Attorney Council, new elections shall be held not later than one month from communication of the decision.

(2) The date of the elections is set by the Attorney Council and is communicated to the members by a written invitation.

(3) The new elections are held in accordance with the procedure stipulated in this Section.

(4) Until resolution of disputed as to the fairness of the elections the current Attorney Council continues to perform its duties.

(1) The General Assembly of Attorneys in this Country shall be convened annually by the Supreme Attorney Council by a written invitation, which shall be sent by the 15 of January to the Attorneys Colleges. On the invitation shall be entered the agenda, the date, time and place for the holding of the meeting.

(2) The General Assembly of Attorneys shall be held on the last Saturday and Sunday of February and is deemed valid if two thirds of the members are present. In the absence of quorum the meeting is postponed for an hour and is then held irrespective of the number of delegates present.

(3) Decisions are adopted by simple majority-half plus one of the attorneys present. The voting is personal and open except with regard to the election of the Supreme Attorney Council and its chairman, the Supreme Control Council and the Supreme Disciplinary Court and its chairman.

(1) The General Assembly of Attorneys is composed of representatives of the Attorneys Colleges at a ratio of representation one delegate for every 20 attorneys.

(2) If the College comprise less than 20 attorneys they shall be represented by one delegate.

(3) When the College comprises by more than 20 attorneys but does not correspond to the set ratio, there shall be an additional delegate for more than 10 attorneys.

(1) The Supreme Attorney Council shall be a juridical person with a seat in Sofia and shall be composed of 15 principal and 10 reserve members.

(2) As members of the Supreme Attorney Council may be elected attorneys with not less than ten years practice.

(1) The Supreme Attorney Council elects from among its composition of principal members two deputy chairman and a chief secretary.

(2) The Supreme Attorney Council may form subsidiary bodies to be headed by the members of the Council.

(1) the Supreme Attorney Council is convened for regular meetings by the Chairman at least once monthly. The Council may be convened also by one third of the principal members with invitation to the others within a period of 15 days.

(2) The meeting is deemed valid if two thirds of the members of the Supreme Attorney Council are present. Decisions are adopted by the majority of present principal members. In case of equally split voting the vote of the Chairman is decisive.

(1) Those who cannot attend for valid reasons or those members who have left the Council shall be replaced by the reserve members in seniority of practice until their return respectively till the expiry of their term .

(2) The reserve members of the Supreme Attorney Council have a consultative vote, unless they have been called upon to substitute principal members of the Council.

(3) In the case where the chairman, one of the deputy chairmen or the chief secretary are unable to attend for valid reasons, until their return, respectively the expiry of their term they shall be replaced as follows:

(1) The Chairman organizes and conducts the work of the Supreme Attorney Council and represents it.

(2) The deputy chairman are responsible for organizational matters, the professional qualification and the preparation of opinions and suggestion in connection with items 9 and 10 of the preceding article.

(3) The Supreme Attorney Council apportions the workload among the deputy chairmen.

(1) The Supreme Control Council oversees the financial activities of the Supreme Attorney Council and controls the activities of the control councils of the Attorneys Colleges.

(2) The Supreme Control Council reports before the General Assembly of Attorneys in this Country.

(1) The Supreme Disciplinary Court is composed of 15 members. Attorneys with practice of over ten years may be elected as members.

(2) Disciplinary cases against members of the Attorneys Councils, controlling councils and the disciplinary courts of the Colleges, of the Supreme Attorneys Councils the Supreme Control Council and the Supreme Disciplinary Court under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Disciplinary Court as first instance.

(3) The cases shall be heard by the Supreme Disciplinary Court composed of: a chairman and four members. The cases against members of the Supreme Attorney Council, the Supreme Control Council and the Supreme Disciplinary Court shall be heard by seven members.

(4) The decisions of the Supreme Disciplinary Court sitting as court of first instance are subject to appeal before the Supreme court of Appeal within fourteen days of pronouncement.

(1) No one may be elected member or chairman of the Supreme Attorney Council, the Supreme Control Council or the Supreme Disciplinary Court for more than two consecutive terms.

(2) An attorney who is a member of the Attorney Council, Supreme Control Council or The Supreme Disciplinary Court.

(1) The chairmen of the attorney councils - delegates to the General Assembly of Attorneys in this Country, may challenge the validity of the elections by a complained filed with the Supreme Attorney Council to the Supreme Court of Appeal within seven days of their staging.

(2) The Supreme Court of Appeal hears the application in an open session at a plenary session chaired by the chairman of the court with the participation of the chief prosecutor and rules within 14 days.

(3) If the Supreme Court of Appeal rules that the elections were not valid, it orders the Supreme Attorney Council to hold new elections. In this case the General Assembly of Attorneys in this Country is summoned within a period of one month of communication of the ruling for new elections.

(1) The following penalties are envisaged for disciplinary violations:

(2) Prohibition to be elected in the governing bodies of attorneys may be levied in concurrence with another punishment.

(3) Reprobation and fine may be levied concurrently.

(4) For relatively miner violation the chairman of the disciplinary court may address a personal warning to the attorney at fault.

(5) Fines are collected to the account of the Attorneys Colleges.

(1) The disciplinary prosecution lapses six months after the violation has become known, but not later than one year from its commission. The intervention of a lawful reason puts an end to the period of lapsing.

(2) The investigation of criminal or administrative proceedings does not overrule disciplinary responsibility and does not terminate the period of lapsing.

(1) Legal grounds for the instigation of disciplinary proceedings may be claims by citizens and juridical persons communicated by judicial and administrative bodies and information from the governing bodies of attorneys.

(2) Anonymous signals and communications do not represent lawful grounds for the instigation of disciplinary proceedings.

(1) Disciplinary proceedings are initiated by decision of the Attorney Council or the Supreme Attorney Council on the basis of valid grounds.

(2) Before making a pronouncement as to the instigation of disciplinary proceedings the Attorney Council is obliged to inform the attorney, who may present his explanations within a period of seven days of communication.

(3) After expiry of the fixed term envisaged in the previous paragraph, the Chairman of the Attorney Council entrusts one principal or reserve member of the Council to conduct an investigation with regard to the presence of the needed preconditions for the initiation of disciplinary proceedings. The performance of the investigation is obligatory and should be completed within one month.

(4) The member of the Attorney Council selected to perform the investigation may be challenged by the attorney against whom disciplinary proceedings have been initiated or by interested parties on the same grounds as those for the challenge of the participation of a judge in court proceedings.

(5) Investigations outside the region of the Attorney College may be carried out by the reporting member of the Attorney Council, or may be entrusted to be performed by delegation by the Attorney Council in the respective Attorney College.

(1) After the investigation has been completed the reporting member presents the file to the Attorney Council which issues an ordinance for starting disciplinary proceedings against the respective attorney or for the termination of such.

(2) When an ordinance for starting disciplinary proceeding is issued, the Attorney Council determines the member of the Council who is to formulate the disciplinary accusation and sustain it before the Disciplinary Court. The ordinance together with the file are sent to the Disciplinary Court.

(1) The chairman of the Disciplinary Court institutes a disciplinary case, determines the chairman and members of the disciplinary bench and schedules a hearing not later than one month therefrom.

(2) A copy of the disciplinary accusation with the relevant list of evidence on which it is based are sent to the attorney who within a period of seven days of communication may issue a protest and state his evidence.

(1) The Disciplinary Court hears the case with the participation of a member of the Attorney Council selected to uphold the accusation.

(2) The accused attorney in the disciplinary case has the right to legal defence.

(3) The hearings of the Disciplinary Court are not held in public.

(4) Addicted in the course of disciplinary proceedings are all types of evidence relevant to the subject matter. The proceedings are held in accordance with the stipulations of the Code of Criminal Procedure in as much as the present Act does not stipulate otherwise.

(1) In connection with disciplinary cases the court rules by a decision with which it levies a disciplinary penalty on the attorney commensurate to the degree of his guilt or acquits him.

(2) The decision is declared after secret deliberations, by a majority decision of the participants on the bench.

(3) None of the participants in the disciplinary proceedings as members of the bench may abstain from voting. A member of the bench who is not in agreement with the opinion of the majority, signs the decision stating his motives for dissent.

(1) The Supreme Attorney Council, comprised of three members hears the case the chairman being selected by seniority.

(2) A member of the Supreme Disciplinary Council presents a conclusion before the Supreme Disciplinary Court as to the validity of the appeal.

(3) The claimant may be defended by an attorney before the court of second instance.