The Supreme Bar Council Adopts Ordinance No. 5 on the Terms and Procedure for the Appointment of Special Representatives

At its regular meeting held on 23 July 2026, the Supreme Bar Council adopted Ordinance No. 5 on the Terms and Procedure for the Appointment of Special Representatives, which is pending publication in the State Gazette.

With the amendments and supplements to the Bar Act (published in State Gazette, No. 17 of 13 February 2026, effective as of 17 February 2026), the legislature established a general regulatory framework for the institution of the special representative. Pursuant to Article 36a(2) of the Bar Act, the Supreme Bar Council was entrusted with regulating, by ordinance, the terms and procedure for the appointment of special representatives based on the principle of random selection and equitable distribution according to the order in which requests are received, from among the members of the respective bar association. The adoption of this secondary legislation was required within six months from the entry into force of the amendments to the Bar Act, i.e., by 17 August 2026 (§ 21(1) of the Transitional and Final Provisions of the Act Amending and Supplementing the Bar Act).

The Ordinance adopted on 23 July 2026 establishes uniform rules for the appointment of special representatives across all bar associations, with the aim of ensuring an equitable distribution of cases and remuneration among lawyers appointed as special representatives. These unified rules address the previously existing differences in organizational models among the various bar associations, thereby enhancing the transparency and traceability of the process of appointing special representatives and, consequently, increasing public confidence in it.

The Ordinance also provides the modernization and digitalization of the process, including a significant reduction of the administrative burden associated with the appointment of special representatives by bar councils. The process is planned to be organized and administered through a specialized electronic system, which is to be introduced within six months from the Ordinance’s entry into force. This system will enable the maintenance of up-to-date data on lawyers, the automated application of selection criteria, random assignment, automated communication with authorities requesting the appointment of a special representative, automated notification of appointed lawyers, and full traceability of all actions taken in relation to each request for the appointment of a special representative.

The draft of Ordinance No. 5 was prepared by a working group consisting of Snezhina Hristova, Desislava Mirazchiyska, Zlatina Yovcheva, Galina Pencheva, Maria Georgieva, and Hristo Hinov. The draft ordinance on special representatives was discussed during the National Conference of the Bar, held on 6 June 2026 in Sofia. Pursuant to a decision of the Supreme Bar Council dated 11 June 2026, the draft was published for public consultation on the Council’s website on 15 June 2026, with a consultation period ending on 15 July 2026.

By the closing date of the public consultation period, 15 July 2026, the Supreme Bar Council had received a total of eight opinions, which were published on the Supreme Bar Council’s website and reflected in the Report under Article 26(5) of the Normative Acts Act on the opinions submitted during the public consultation period, including explanations regarding the proposals that were accepted and those that were rejected.

The draft ordinance, together with the opinions and proposals submitted during the public consultation period, was discussed and adopted at a meeting of the Supreme Bar Council on 23 July 2026. The final text of the adopted Ordinance No. 5 on the Terms and Procedure for the Appointment of Special Representatives is available on the Supreme Bar Council’s website.

Ordinance No. 5 on the Terms and Procedure for the Appointment of Special Representatives is now awaiting publication in the State Gazette. It will enter into force three days after its publication.