Legal Blog

Bulgarian Aircraft Register should be open

Bulgarian Civil Aviation Authority is responsible for keeping the aircraft register of Bulgaria i.e. records of all aircraft registrations, aircraft ownership rights, dry or wet lease contracts records. Bulgarian aircraft register is not very big, but has a potential to grow as Bulgaria is part of the EU and any registered aircraft in Bulgaria will benefit the Single European Sky. Bulgarian Aircraft register regulation The aircraft register is regulated by the Chicago Convention, Annex 7, the Bulgarian Civil Aviation Act and the ordinance about the rules for keeping the register.

Temporary replacement of aircraft engine in Bulgaria

If an aircraft engine fails, the airline can make a temporary engine replacement until the rightful owner (lessor) allows permanent engine replacement. Sometimes in case of financial problems the aircraft is seized by creditor or the airline goes bankrupt. In such cases the owner of the airframe might acquire title over the engine if the engine owner doesn’t legally protect its asset. Such protection of assets effectively can be done by an aviation lawyer, experienced in the local jurisdiction.

Аppealing fines of Bulgarian Border Police imposed to Airlines

Many airlines are fined by the Bulgarian Border Police because they are not aware of the liability to check if their passengers have a valid visa to enter Bulgaria. In most of the cases, the passenger has a valid visa to enter another EU country, but the flight to Bulgaria is just one of the legs of the journey. Fines to Airlines are between €3000 and €5000 Because of the relatively recent accession into EU, Bulgarian Border Police are still not fully trained in the EU regulations.

Claim against ground handling company in Bulgaria

If an airline has a claim against a ground handling operator in Bulgaria, most probably the claim will be resolved according to rules of the signed IATA Standard Ground Handling Agreement (SGHA). In extremely rare cases, the ground handling company in Bulgaria will have its own custom handling agreement. All major ground handling companies such as Swissport (servicing Sofia Airport through Swissport Bulgaria JSC) regularly update their SGHA when IATA produces a new draft.

Specifics on ship arrest in Bulgaria (Varna and Bourgas)

Аrresting a ship is a way to secure a maritime claim, while the claimant initiates the claim proceedings. We have described the procedures for ship arrest in Bulgaria before, but here we will clarify some prerequisites, necessary for the ship arrest. At MH Legal, we advise any claimant who will initiate a ship arrest to prepare the following minimal set of documents: Proof of registration for the claimant Proof of registration of the defendant Proof of service delivery Notice for payment Existing entity The above four points are essential for a successful ship arrest in Bulgaria.

Ship arrest in Bulgaria Varna and Burgas Black Sea ports

The ship arrests in Bulgaria can be executed in one of the two Bulgarian Black Sea ports - Varna and Burgas. The legal regime of the ship arrest is described in the following statutory regulations, effective in Bulgaria: International Convention related to Sea-going ships, Geneva 1999 [PDF] Bulgarian Merchant Shipping Code [DOC] Executing a commercial ship arrest in a Bulgarian sea port Pursuant to the International convention, the ship arrest in Bulgarian sea port can be executed against a commercial ship only, regardless the flag under which it is registered under.

The biggest mistake when dissolving Bulgarian company

There are two main reasons why foreigners dissolve their Bulgarian limited companies: They failed to re-register by end of 2012 or They want their property on their personal names Regarding the first point, we have alarmed in the past few years that all companies in Bulgaria which haven’t been re-registered or dissolved voluntarily, will be subject to compulsory liquidation by the government. According to §5а paragraph 1 of Companies Register Act, the deadline for voluntary dissolving of the non-reregistered companies is set to 31 January 2015, which is just 6 months away.

Inheriting company in Bulgaria made easy

Following the 2003-2008 property rush, many Brits and Irish have bought properties in Bulgaria through limited companies. Some investors were in their retirement age, hoping to get their last years spent in new Bulgarian home. Due to complicated parent-children relations, in case of death of the company owner (or shareholder), the lawful heirs often couldn’t find the property or even company details. Sometimes, a further problem is the complicated shares structure of the company.

Bulgaria breaches the Apostille Convention

This post is consequence of my week struggle with the Bulgarian Commercial Register’s reckless breach of the Apostille Convention. Bulgaria has signed the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (its official full name) and it is effective for Bulgaria since its adoption by the Bulgarian Pаrliament and promulgation in the state Gazette on 30.04.2001. Purpose of apostille Apostille’s purpose is to remove the bureaucracy when official document, issued in one signatory state is used in another signatory state.

Certification of documents in the Bulgarian Embassy in London

This blog post was provoked by my visit in the Bulgarian embassy in London today. An English fellow was standing in the queue in front of me waiting to certify some documents, clearly given to him by a Bulgarian solicitors firm (there was a letterhead document in his hands). These documents were prepared for registration of a new Bulgarian limited company. I was quite surprised when he asked the Bulgarian Consul to certify all documents he had.