The Supreme Court of Cassation ( bg, Върховен касационен съд, Vǎrhoven kasatsionen sǎd) is the final court of appeal in the

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. Its work is governed by the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

of 1991. According to Article 124, it exercises supreme judicial power over the application of the law in all courts. The Supreme Court of Cassation may even overturn a final decision by a lower court. It also takes part in the appointment of judges for the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

. The Supreme Court of Cassation, however, does have to hand cases over to the Constitutional Court when it finds a contradiction between the laws and the Constitution of the Republic. If a question of constitutionality arises, the court may refer it to the Constitutional Court. The Chairman of the Court is appointed for a seven-year term and is dismissed by the President of the Republic on motion from the Supreme Judicial Council. The Chairman is not eligible for a second term.

History

It was established in 1878. Its first chairman was Dimitar Grekov. The Supreme Court of Cassation was opened on May 25, 1880 by virtue of the Law on the Structure of Courts. After the September 9 coup in 1944, the government began to pass ordinances-laws, which created an extraordinary People's Court. A large number of judges and other members of the judiciary were interned, sent to prison, or killed. The Dimitrov Constitution of 1947 established a new judicial organization. The Supreme Court of Cassation, the Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Military Court were merged into the newly established Supreme Court of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. Its members were elected by the National Assembly, the majority being members of the

Bulgarian Communist Party The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; bg, Българска Комунистическа Партия (БКП), Balgarska komunisticheska partiya (BKP)) was the founding and ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 198 ...

. The Supreme Court heard as a first instance the cases of defendants, generals, prosecutors, judges and investigators, and as a second instance it rules on appeals and protests against judicial acts of other judicial bodies. In the following years, the court was required to report on its activities to the National Assembly and its Presidium (after 1971 — the State Council). It consisted of a Criminal, Civil, and Military College, and even received the right of legislative initiative.

References

External links

* Government of Bulgaria

Judiciary of Bulgaria {{Law-stub