MEDIATION ACT

 

Prom. SG. 110/17 Dec 2004, amend. SG. 86/24 Oct 2006, amend. SG. 9/28 Jan 2011, amend. SG. 27/1 Apr 2011, amend. and suppl. SG. 77/18 Sep 2018, amend. SG. 17/26 Feb 2019, amend. and suppl. SG. 11/2 Feb 2023

 

Chapter one.
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Scope of Application

Art. 1. (1) (Prev. text of Art. 1 – SG 11/23, in force from 01.07.2024) This Act shall regulate the relations connected with mediation as an alternative way of settlement of legal and non-legal disputes.

(2) (New – SG 11/23, in force from 01.07.2024) The Act also regulates the mediation procedure for pending court cases.

 

Concept of mediation

Art. 2. Mediation shall be voluntary and confidential proceedings of out-of-court settlement of disputes whereas a third person – mediator assists the disputing parties to achieve settlement.

 

Subject of mediation

Art. 3. (1) (suppl. – SG 27/11) Subject of mediation may be civil, commercial, labour, family and administrative disputes related to rights of consumers and another disputes between natural and/or legal persons, including transboundary.

(2) Mediation shall be performed as well as in the cases envisaged in the Penal Procedure Code.

(3) Mediation shall not be performed if by law or another legislation act a different way of settlement is stipulated.

 

Organisation of mediation

Art. 4. Mediation shall be performed by natural persons. These persons may associate in order to carry out the activity. Persons performing judicial functions in the system of the judiciary shall not perform mediation activities.

 

Chapter two.
PRINCIPLES OF MEDIATION

Voluntary and equality

Art. 5. The parties shall have equal opportunities to participate in the mediation procedure. They participate voluntarily and may adjourn at any time.

 

Neutrality and impartiality

Art. 6. (1) The mediator shall not demonstrate partiality and shall not impose a settlement of the dispute.

(2) In the mediation procedure all issues shall be settled by mutual agreement of the parties.

 

Confidentiality

Art. 7. (1) (prev. text of Art. 07 – SG 27/11) The debates arising form the dispute shall be confidential. The participants in the mediation procedure are obliged to keep secret all the circumstances, facts and documents that have become known to them during the procedure.

(2) (new – SG 27/11) The mediator may not be questioned as a witness regarding the circumstances disclosed to him by the participants and relevant for deciding on the dispute subject to the mediation, except with the explicit consent by the participant, who has disclosed them to him.

(3) (new – SG 27/11) Exceptions to the confidentiality of the mediation shall be allowed in the cases, where:

  1. this is necessary for the needs of the penal proceedings or related to the protection of the public order;
  2. there is need to ensure protection of children interests or prevent impingement on the corporal or mental inviolability of a certain person, or
  3. the disclosure of the contents of an agreement, achieved as a result from mediation, is necessary to enforce and perform the said agreement.

 

Chapter three.
LEGAL STATUS OF THE MEDIATOR

General Requirements

Art. 8. (amend. – SG 86/06) (1) Mediator may be only a legally competent person who meets the following requirements:

  1. has not been convicted for crimes of general nature;
  2. has graduated a training course for a mediator;
  3. is not deprived of right to exercise a profession or activity;
  4. (suppl. – SG 9/11) has a permission for permanent or long term residence in the Republic of Bulgaria, if the person is a foreign citizen;
  5. is inscribed in the Unified Register of Mediators to the Minister of Justice.

(2) (In force from 01.01.2007) The requirement under para 1, item 4 shall not apply to citizens of the Member States of the European Union, of the other countries of the European Economic Area and of Switzerland.

(3) (suppl. – SG 77/18, in force from 01.01.2019) The Minister of Justice or an official appointed from the staff of the ministry shall issue a certificate to the mediator for his/her entry in the Unified Register of Mediators.

(4) The Minister of Justice shall approve by an order the organizations, who train mediators. The terms and the manner of their approval, as well as the requirements for the training of mediators shall be set forth by an ordinance of the Minister of Justice.

(5) (amend. – SG 77/18, in force from 01.01.2019) In case the person – candidate mediator, and the organization, applying for training mediators, do not meet the legal requirements, the Minister of Justice or an official appointed from the staff of the ministry shall refuse by an order the entry in the Unified Register of Mediators, respectively the approval. The order may be subject to appeal following the procedure of the Administrative Procedure Code before the relevant administrative court.

 

Unified Register of Mediators

Art. 8a. (new – SG 86/06) (1) (suppl. – SG 77/18, in force from 01.01.2019) The Minister of Justice or an official appointed from the staff of the ministry shall create and maintain Unified Register of Mediators.

(2) In the Unified Register of Mediators shall be indicated:

  1. name, unified civil number (personal number of foreigner), citizenship, education, profession, additional specialisation in the sphere of mediation, the organization, where the person has been trained, command of foreign languages, address and telephone for contact and number of the mediator;
  2. deletion and write-off of the mediator;
  3. the organization where the mediator has been trained;
  4. changes in the circumstances under Art. 8, para 1, items 1, 3 and 4;

(3) The Unified Register of Mediators shall be public.

(4) (suppl. – SG 77/18, in force from 01.01.2019) A person, who has been entered in the Unified Register of Mediators, shall announce in writing before the Minister of Justice or an official appointed from the staff of the ministry any changes in the circumstances subject to entry in 14-days term from their occurrence.

(5) (amend. – SG 77/18, in force from 01.01.2019) Where some of the requirements under Art. 8, para 1, item 1, 3 and 4 drops out, the Minister of Justice or an official appointed from the staff of the ministry shall issue an order, with which deletes the mediator from the Unified Register of Mediators. The order may be subject to appeal following the procedure of the Administrative Procedure Code before the relevant administrative court.

(6) The manner of entry, write-off and deletion in the Unified Register of Mediators shall be determined by the ordinance under Art. 8, para 4.

(7) (amend. – SG 17/19) The information under para 2, item 1 for the unified civil number (personal number of foreigner) shall be provided in accordance with the requirements for protection of personal data.

 

Fees

Art. 8b. (new – SG 86/06) The Ministry of Justice shall collect fee for entry in the Unified Register of Mediators and for approving the organizations, which train mediators, in amount, determined by a tariff, adopted by the Council of Ministers.

 

Rules of behaviour of the mediator

Art. 9. (1) (suppl. – SG 86/06) The mediator shall perform his activity diligently and observing the law, good morals, the proceedings and ethic rules of behaviour of the mediator. These rules shall be set forth by the ordinance under Art. 8, para 4.

(2) The mediator shall accept to conduct the procedure only of he can guarantee his independence, impartiality and neutrality.

 

Obligations and responsibilities of the mediator.

Art. 10. (1) The mediator shall not provide legal advices.

(2) During the procedure the mediator shall observe the position of each of the disputing parties.

(3) The mediator shall leave the procedure if circumstances generating doubt in his independence, impartiality and neutrality arise.

(4) The mediator may not announce to the other participants in the procedure circumstances which concern only one of the disputing parties without the consent of the party.

(5) The mediator shall not be responsible if parties do not achieve settlement.

(6) The mediator shall not be responsible for settlement being not executed.

 

Chapter four.
MEDIATION PROCEDURE

Opening of the procedure

Art. 11. (1) The mediation procedure shall start by initiative of the disputing parties and each of them may make proposal for the settlement of the dispute by way of mediation.

(2) (new – SG 27/11) The commencement of the mediation procedure shall be deemed the day, in which the parties have explicitly agreed on its commencement, and where such agreement lacks – the day of the first meeting of all participants with the mediator.

(3) (prev. text of Para 02 – SG 27/11) Proposal to settle the dispute by way of mediation may be made as well by the court or other competent body to which the dispute have been referred to for settlement.

(4) (New – SG 11/23, in force from 01.07.2024) In cases provided for by law, the court obliges the parties to participate in a first meeting in a mediation procedure.

(5) (prev. para 3 – SG 27/11, prev. para 4 – SG 11/23, in force from 01.07.2024) The consent of the parties to settle a future dispute by way of mediation may be set as a clause of an agreement.

 

Effect of the commencement of the mediation to limitation periods

Art. 11a. (new – SG 27/11) No limitation period shall lapse during the mediation procedure.

 

Participants

Art. 12. (1) A mediation procedure shall be performed by one or more mediators appointed by the parties.

(2) (suppl. – SG 86/06) The disputing parties shall participate in person or by e representative. The authorization shall be carried out in writing.

(3) In the mediation procedure may also participate attorneys-at-law as well as other experts.

 

Actions of the mediator

Art. 13. (1) Before conduction of the procedure, the mediator shall inform the parties regarding the nature of the mediation and the consequences of it and shall require their written or oral consent for participation.

(2) (amend. – SG 27/11) The mediator shall envisage all circumstances which mat generate to the parties reasonable doubt concerning his impartiality and neutrality, including where the mediator is a person:

  1. is a spouse or relative of direct lineage without restriction, of peripheral lineage up to fourth degree or relative-in-law up to third degree to any of the parties or its representative;
  2. in cohabitation with a party to the dispute subject to mediation;
  3. who has been a representative or proxy of a party to the dispute subject to mediation;
  4. in respect of which there are other circumstances causing reasoned doubt to his impartiality.

(3) (new – SG 27/11) The mediator shall sign an impartiality declaration indicating the circumstances referred to in Para 2 for each procedure he is assigned to, and shall hand them to the disputing parties.

(4) (prev. text of Para 03 – SG 27/11) In the curse of the procedure the substance of the dispute shall be clarified, and amicably acceptable variants of settlements shall be c