The bill to amend the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) provides for a number of changes, focusing primarily on the introduction of the electronic form in the order for payment procedure. The difference with the previous procedure is that now the creditor may exercise the creditor’s rights entirely electronically, through an electronic application that will be made available on the Single e-Justice Portal. In addition to the said application, both a warrant of execution and a writ of execution will be issued online.
There is also an exception that covers the range of applicants who are not traders, or are not represented by a lawyer, i.e. the submission of an application in writing to the court. In debtor’s favor (whenever the debtor exercises their rights), an objection to an already issued warrant of execution may be filed again in writing in any district court.
Another advantage is that every district court in the country will consider applications for the issuance of a warrant of execution, which in itself is a guarantee of the efficiency and speed of the order for payment procedure.
The upcoming changes in the Civil Procedure Code provide for a relatively relaxed regime for proving claims and shorter terms for considering claims. This amendment will definately reduce the workload of individual courts, especially that of the Sofia District Court (SDC) where a civil lawsuit usually takes twice as long as compared to the district courts in the other larger towns.
The main objectives of the bill are to hugely facilitate citizens’ access to justice by creating effective rules for remote access to court, in addition to easing the uneven workload of the courts, and to bring the fees down, making the order for payment procedure at the court even more efficient and affordable.
Currently the Art. 417 of the Civil Procedure Code provides that a creditor having a valid document based on which the creditor can obtain an immediate warrant of execution must first submit a written application to the relevant district court at the debtor’s permanent address. . This provision explicitly states the documents based on which the court will issue an immediate warrant of execution – such as, for example, a contract with notarized signatures, a promissory note, an extract from accounting books.
If you have a claim but you are not sure which is the most appropriate manner to assert your rights as a creditor, you can trust our team to treat your case with the utmost care and legal expertise.
