Recent amendments to the Bulgarian Civil Procedural Code have introduced an obligatory information meeting for mediation in various court disputes (e.g., matrimonial matters, matters of parental responsibility, liquidation of property, certain employment disputes, numerous monetary and non-monetary claims with a value up to EUR 12 780, etc.). The court shall oblige the parties to take part in an information meeting when it deems that the dispute is suitable for referral to mediation, taking into account all the circumstances related to it, including when certain criteria are met (e.g., lasting relations between the parties; interconnected disputes between the same parties; when the costs of the court proceedings may significantly exceed the material interest in the case, etc.). However, certain facts relieve the judge from the above obligation (e.g., acknowledgment of the claim, evidence of violence committed against a party to the dispute by the counter party or a risk to the life or health of a child or to their interests, etc.).
Apart from the general benefits related to the out-of-court dispute resolution methods, positive effects of the newly adopted amendments are linked to certain financial aspects (i.e., the information meeting fee is covered by the court; if there is a settlement, up to 85% of the court fees paid by the parties will be reimbursed), as well as procedural efficiency elements (i.e., the court proceedings will not be suspended while the mediation is taking place, which reduces the risk of abuses of rights and does not affect the right to access to justice).
The above amendments open up new opportunities and encourage the parties to a dispute to experience the high potential and empowering mechanisms of this out-of-court dispute resolution process.