Comprehensive Study Guide on Norm-setting and Legislative Procedures and Principles

Fundamental Principles of Norm-setting

The process of norm-setting is guided by several exhaustive principles that ensure the legal system is robust, predictable, and fair. The Principle of the Rule of Law requires that every normative act must comply with requirements regarding the irrevocability of fundamental rights. It necessitates a balance when competing fundamental rights exist and demands proportionality between the goals of legal regulation and the restrictions imposed on legal subjects. Guarantees for this principle include the ability to challenge the constitutionality of codes and laws before the Constitutional Court, and bylaws before the court under the Administrative Procedure Code (APC).

Coherence serves as the essence of a non-contradictory regulatory framework, achieved through vertical synchronization via the hierarchy of normative acts and horizontal synchronization through the clear delimitation of the subject matter between acts of the same rank. Guarantees for coherence include the supremacy of the Constitution, the priority of international treaties over domestic law, and the mandatory compliance of every normative act with those of a higher degree. Furthermore, special laws may only deviate from general regulations if the nature of the specific social relations governed requires such a distinction.

Justification ($\text{Обоснованост}$) requires the presentation of arguments demonstrating that a normative act is the most appropriate solution to an existing problem. This includes stating the reasons for adoption, the set goals, and the expected results. Procedural guarantees involve mandatory explanatory memorandums ($мотиви$) or reports, impact assessments regarding economic activity and employment, and financial justifications. A draft act without these attached components cannot be discussed by the competent authority.

Exhaustiveness and Stability ($Изчерпателност и стабилност$) aim for a complete regulation of social relations within a specific subject matter. Social relations in the same field should be regulated by a single act rather than several acts of the same rank. Amendments are preferred over creating separate new acts. Repealing a law and replacing it with a new one is only permissible if the changes are numerous and significant. Furthermore, an act that amends or repeals another must explicitly list all affected subdivisions down to the level of items ($точки$) or letters ($букви$).

Future Effect ($Действие за в бъдеще$) allows legal subjects to align their behavior with new norms. Acts generally enter into force $3$ days after their promulgation. Retroactivity is an exception and must be explicitly provided for; however, it is strictly forbidden to convict someone for an act that was not a crime at the time of commission. Provisions imposing sanctions cannot have retroactive effect unless they are more lenient than the previous ones.

Accessibility and Openness ($Достъпност, откритост и съгласуваност$) require that rules are understandable, formulated in common Bulgarian, and precisely drafted. Legislative projects must undergo public consultation with stakeholders. Drafts must be published on institutional websites for a period usually no shorter than $30$ days (or by exception $14$ days) for feedback. The drafter is then obligated to consider these suggestions and coordinate with other authorities whose powers are related to the regulated subject matter.

Definition and Classification of Normative Acts

According to Article $1\text{a}$ of the Law on Normative Acts ($\text{ZNA}$), a normative act is defined as an act containing general rules of conduct applied to an individually undetermined circle of subjects, intended for repeated use, and issued or adopted by a competent state body. To be legally valid, it must meet four requirements: contain general rules for an undetermined circle of subjects, be issued by a state body within its competence, follow a procedure defined by the Constitution or laws, and be made public through promulgation or publication.

The primary types of normative acts include the Constitution, Laws, and Codes. The Constitution ($\text{Konstitutsiya}$) settles the form of the state, the functions of high state bodies, the characteristics of social and economic life, and the legal status of citizens. A Law ($\text{Zakon}$) regulates social relations that are susceptible to lasting regulation, acting either primarily or based on the Constitution. A Code ($\text{Kodeks}$) provides exhaustive regulation for an entire branch of the legal system or a distinct part thereof.

Subordinate legislation (Bylaws) includes several specific types. Decrees ($\text{Postanovleniya}$) are issued by the Council of Ministers for regulating social relations not subject to law or for adopting regulations and ordinances. A Regulation ($\text{Pravilnik}$) is used for the application of a law in its entirety or for the organization of state and local bodies. An Ordinance ($\text{Naredba}$) is used for applying specific provisions or subdivisions of a higher-level act. An Instruction ($\text{Instruktsiya}$) provides guidance from a superior body to subordinate bodies regarding the application of an act already issued.

Competence and Hierarchy in the Legal System

Administrative competence is defined as the range of issues an organ is authorized to handle and the powers it possesses to resolve them. Material competence refers to the power to issue acts in specific management areas, which can be general or special. Territorial competence defines the spatial reach of an authority's power. Degree (Personal) competence limits powers based on the organ's position within the administrative hierarchy ($\text{личен/по степен капацитет}$). Competence to issue normative acts is an inherent power of the authority and cannot be transferred to others.

The hierarchy of authorities and their respective acts is strictly defined. The Grand National Assembly ($\text{Veliko Narodno Sabranie}$) has the power to adopt a new Constitution or amend specific parts under Article $158$. The National Assembly ($\text{Narodno Sabranie}$) adopts codes, laws, and constitutional amendments outside the scope of Article $158$. The Council of Ministers issues Decrees, Regulations, and Ordinances. Ministers and other heads of authorities issue Regulations, Ordinances, and Instructions. Municipal Councils ($\text{Obshtinski saveti}$) issue Regulations, Ordinances, and Instructions for local governance. Mayors issue the Organizational Regulation of their respective municipal administration.

International Treaties and European Union Acts

International treaties are bilateral or multilateral agreements between states involving Bulgaria, regulated by international law. For these to be part of domestic law, they must be ratified by the National Assembly (under Art. $85, \text{ para. } 1$) or the Grand National Assembly (Art. $158, \text{ pt. } 2$), promulgated in the "State Gazette" within $15$ days of entering into force for Bulgaria, and must have officially entered into force according to their own terms.

Legal acts of the European Union maintain their own hierarchy. Regulations ($\text{Reglamenti}$) are the highest acts, aiming to create uniform law across the EU. They apply to an undetermined circle of persons, are binding in their entirety, and are directly applicable without the need for national transposition. Directives ($\text{Direktivi}$) aim for legal approximation while allowing national flexibility. They focus on general principles and specific results, leaving the choice of form and means to national legislators; they must be transposed to have effect. Decisions ($\text{Resheniya}$) are binding in their entirety. If they specify addressees, they are only binding on them; Decisions addressed to individuals have direct effect, while those addressed to Member States may require domestic acts. Recommendations and Opinions ($\text{Preporaki i Stanovishta}$) are non-binding.

The Structure and Elements of a Normative Act

The construction of a normative act must be logical and unified to facilitate understanding and systematic interpretation. Every act must include a title consisting of the type of act and its main subject (e.g., "Labor Code" or "Law on Forests"). Detailed rules from Decree No. $883$ specify that the title should be clear enough to provide a general idea of the content in one or two words. For subordinate acts, the title includes a serial number and the date of issuance (e.g., "Decree No. 8 of the Council of Ministers of 16.01.2015").

The internal division of an act follows a specific hierarchy. Large acts may be divided into Parts ($\text{Chast}$), Divisions ($\text{Dyal}$), Chapters ($\text{Glava}$), and Sections ($\text{Razdel}$). The basic unit is the Article ($\text{Chl.}$), followed by Paragraphs ($\text{(1)}$), Items ($\text{1.}$), and Letters ($\text{a)}$). Every Article in a code must have a title expressing its main content, a practice also recommended for laws. Provisions are grouped into General Provisions ($\text{Obshti razporedbi}$), which include the subject, goals, principles, and general rules, followed by Special Provisions ($\text{Osobni razporedbi}$), which cover organizational, substantive, procedural, and administrative-penal rules.

Additional Provisions ($\text{Dopalnitelni razporedbi}$) are placed immediately after the main text, using paragraphs starting with $\text{§ 1}$. These include rules secondary to the subject, definitions of frequently used terms, and EU directive references. Transitional Provisions ($\text{Prehodni razporedbi}$) regulate the continuation of repealed rules for pending legal relations. Final Provisions ($\text{Zaklyuchitelni razporedbi}$) include rules on retroactivity, the repeal of previous acts, the body responsible for implementation, and the date of entry into force. Appendices ($\text{Prilozheniya}$), such as lists, tables, or formulas, are used to avoid cluttering the main text and must be promulgated with the act.

Linguistic and Grammatical Requirements

Legal provisions must be formulated briefly, precisely, and clearly. Deviations from common Bulgarian are only permitted by exception for established legal terms or foreign words that have become integral to the language. Consistency is paramount; the same terms must carry the same meaning throughout the legal system. For example, the term "firm" ($\text{firma}$) should be used consistently across the Commercial Law and the Commercial Register Law.

The word "may" ($\text{mozhe}$) indicates discretionary power or the exercise of subjective rights. To avoid the interpretation of "I can choose not to do it" in duties, the word "mandatory" ($\text{zadrazhitelno}$) is used. Dates are written with numbers for the day and words for the month (e.g., $1 \text{ July}$). Deadlines in days are written entirely in words (e.g., "three-day period") or with numbers and the adjective "day" (e.g., $7\text{-day period}$). Numbers and figures have specific distinctions: e.g., replacing the number "$610$ " with "$602$," but replacing the figure "$6$ " with "$4$."

Syntactically, either direct word order ($\text{Subject } \rightarrow \text{ Predicate}$) or reverse word order ($\text{Predicate } \rightarrow \text{ Subject}$) can be used. The present tense is standard because the act is currently in effect, while the future tense is used for relations arising after a specific legal fact. The active voice ($\text{Deyatelen zalog}$) is used when the subject performs the action, while the passive voice ($\text{Stradatelen zalog}$) is used when the action is performed upon the subject. Capitalization is reserved for the names of institutions and specific acts, while titles like "minister," "director," or "department" are written in lowercase.

Techniques for Amendment, Supplementation, and Repeal

Amendments, supplements, or repeals must be carried out by an act of equal rank (e.g., a Law to change a Law). The amending act is structured using paragraphs ($\text{§}$) without grouping them into divisions. The sequence of paragraphs must strictly follow the order of the provisions being changed in the original act. The title of an amending act must include the type of act, whether it is for amendment ($\text{izmenenie}$), supplement ($\text{dopalnenie}$), or both, and a full reference to the original act's promulgation in the "State Gazette" ($\text{DV}$).

When amending text, the specific provision must be cited (e.g., "In Art. $7, \text{ para. } 2$ "). Text being added or changed must be placed in double quotation marks. If an entire paragraph is changed, the formula used is: "Paragraph $2$ is amended as follows: [new text] ". When supplementing, new articles inserted between existing ones are given the number of the preceding article followed by a small letter (e.g., Art. $47\text{a}$). If adding new paragraphs or items, they are appended to the end of the existing list. Repealing is done via explicit provision (e.g., "Article $11$ is repealed"), while specific words or sentences are "deleted" ($заличават се$).

The Legislative Procedure

The preparation of a draft act begins with identifying a problem, its causes, and expected results. Research must include existing legislation, EU regulations, and judicial practice. For the Council of Ministers, a $6$-month operational program is adopted. The process involves: $1$) Drafting the initial project by a ministry; $2$) Public consultation and coordination with other ministers and the Anti-Corruption Commission; $3$) Preparing the final draft with a report, financial justification, and impact assessment; $4$) Adoption by the Council of Ministers with a quorum of more than half of the members; and $5$) Signature by the Prime Minister and promulgation.

The Parliamentary procedure for laws involves several stages: $1$) Legislative initiative (by any MP or the Council of Ministers); $2$) Preliminary impact assessment and registration; $3$) Discussion in standing commissions, where the lead commission holds public hearings; $4$) First reading, where the law is discussed in principle and voted on by the National Assembly (requiring a quorum of more than half and a majority of those present); $5$) Submission of proposals by MPs within $7$ days; $6$) Second reading, where the bill is voted on text by text; $7$) Transmission to the President, who has $15$ days to either promulgate it or exercise a suspensive veto. If vetoed, the Assembly must vote again, requiring a majority of all MPs ($121$ out of $240$) to override it.