Bulgaria

• The Constitution of 1991, the highest law
• Codes and statutes, such as the Law on Obligations and Contracts, the Civil Procedure Code and the Criminal Code
• European Union law, which takes priority in its area, and the European Convention on Human Rights
• Binding interpretations by the Supreme Court of Cassation and the Supreme Administrative Court, which guide the lower courts

• The Supreme Court of Cassation is the top court for civil and criminal cases, and the Supreme Administrative Court is the top court for administrative cases
• Below them: courts of appeal, regional courts and district courts (three levels of review in most cases)
• The Constitutional Court, with twelve judges, checks that laws follow the Constitution

A law degree from a university, then practical training, and admission to a bar association. Judges and prosecutors are chosen and overseen by a Supreme Judicial Council, and the prosecution is part of the judicial system.

• The prosecution service belongs to the judiciary, unlike in the United States or England, where prosecutors are part of the executive.
• A separate set of administrative courts deals with disputes between people and the state.
• As an EU country, Bulgaria's courts apply EU law and can refer questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union.
• Judges give their reasons by applying the code to the facts, rather than discussing earlier cases at length as common-law judges do.

Germany, France, Russia, Japan, United States

The University of Ottawa’s JuriGlobe database lists Bulgaria as: Civil law. It names the systems in order of importance.

The map colours a country by the first-named system, and shows both civil-law and common-law countries as “mixed”. It is a simplification, and real systems are rarely pure.

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso.

• Constitutional Court of Bulgaria: competencies
• e-Justice Portal: Bulgaria's judicial system
• Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria

Sources last reviewed: October 2026.