History

The Institute for the State and the Law was established in 1947. Its founding fathers were Academicians Stefan Balamezov and Petko Staynov. They raised the issue of establishing an institute for the study of the Constitution in a letter addressed to the Philosophical and Legal-Economic Branch of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), which was considered at a meeting on 8 May 1947. On this basis, the Governing Council of BAS decided to establish a Legal Institute, with a department of constitutional law. On 8 December 1947, Academician Stefan Balamezov was appointed the Institute’s first director. At the beginning of 1948, the newly established Legal Institute began its activities on the basis of an approved research programme.

Initially, the Institute was housed in two offices in the building of Sofia University. Its permanent research staff was small, and there were no research departments. The Institute also relied on non-permanent associates, primarily from the Faculty of Law of Sofia University. Close ties developed between the Institute’s researchers, the lecturers at the Faculty of Law of Sofia University, and prominent legal practitioners with academic interests.

Ten years after its establishment, the Institute already employed 35 researchers and 12 legal specialists working in its documentation service, which covered judicial and arbitration practice and foreign legislation. The main areas of the Institute’s activities had taken shape and have remained largely unchanged to this day: (1) conducting research into theoretical issues, with findings published in monographs, studies, and the Institute’s periodicals. The most important of these is Pravna Misal (Legal Thought), a journal that continues to be published today; (2) drafting legislative proposals, discussing draft legislation, preparing opinions, and making recommendations for improving Bulgarian legislation; and (3) providing consultations, expert opinions, and statements on issues arising in the practice of judicial and administrative authorities.

During the 1970s and 1980s, the Institute expanded as it undertook and carried out an increasing number of research assignments commissioned by state authorities. At the same time, the first efforts were made to establish closer links with Western Europe. Bulgarian-French and French-Bulgarian legal days were held periodically, and researchers were sent on study visits to the Max Planck Institutes in Germany and to institutes affiliated with the National Centres for Scientific Research in France and Italy. High standards were set for the legal and foreign-language proficiency of young scholars seeking research positions. Particular attention was devoted to comparative legal studies.

Between 1973 and 1988, the Institute was renamed the Institute for the State and the Law and operated as part of the Unified Centre for State and Legal Studies, together with the Faculty of Law of Sofia University. As a result of this integration, during this period the Institute’s researchers also served as full-time lecturers at the Faculty of Law, while the Institute continued to pursue its own independent research activities.

The beginning of democratic change in Bulgaria in 1990 found the Institute at its largest staffing level, with 76 employees, approximately 15 of whom were administrative staff and specialist lawyers. The new socio-political and economic relations opened up new career opportunities for the Institute’s researchers. Many left academic research. Some entered politics, others turned to consultancy and participation in commercial companies, while a third group made teaching at the newly established law faculties across the country their primary professional commitment. In 1994–1995, as part of the overall restructuring of BAS, the Institute underwent organisational changes and was renamed the Institute of Legal Studies (ILS). In 2010, following further reforms at BAS, it resumed its former name, the Institute for the State and the Law.

Today, although its staff is smaller (37 positions, including administrative personnel), the Institute firmly maintains its position as a major academic centre for the advancement of legal scholarship in Bulgaria.

Directors of the Institute for the State and the Law

• 1947–1950 – Academician Stefan Balamezov
• 1950–1971 – Academician Lyuben Vasilev
• 1972–1977 – Professor Zhivko Stalev
• 1977–1982 – Professor Kostadin Lyutov
• 1982–1989 – Professor Vasil Mrachkov
• 1989–1991 – Professor Veselin Karakashev
• 1992–1994 – Professor Emil Konstantinov
• 1994–1995 – Professor Kino Lazarov
• 1995–2006 – Professor Tsvetana Kamenova
• For a brief period in 2006 – Professor Polya Goleva (Deputy Director) and Senior Research Fellow, Dr Krasen Stoychev
• 2006–2010 – Professor Veselin Tsankov, PhD
• 2010–2011 – The Institute was successively headed by Associate Professor Velina Todorova, Associate Professor Gergana Marinova (Deputy Director), and Professor Tsvetana Kamenova (Acting Director). On 15 November 2011, Associate Professor Velina Todorova, PhD, was appointed Director of the Institute.
• 2012–2016 – Professor Tsvetana Kamenova
• 2016–2018 – Professor Irena Ilieva, Acting Director
• 2018–2026 – Professor Irena Ilieva
• 2026–present – Associate Professor Ekaterina Salkova

Eminent Scholars and Their Contributions

The history of the Institute and of Bulgarian legal scholarship has been shaped by the distinguished scholars who have worked there.

Academician Stefan Balamezov – An outstanding erudite scholar and constitutional lawyer, he authored a three-volume treatise on constitutional law that has been used by generations of legal professionals.

Academician Petko Staynov – Widely regarded as Bulgaria’s leading scholar of administrative law, he achieved international recognition and renown.

Academician Lyuben Vasilev – A leading figure in Bulgarian civil law, whose name is closely associated with the Institute. He trained generations of talented legal scholars.

Academician Stefan Pavlov – A prominent theorist of Bulgarian criminal procedural law.

Corresponding Member Kostadin Lyutov – A leading specialist in criminal law.

Professor Petko Radoynov – Doctor of Legal Sciences, who as early as the 1970s examined important theoretical issues in public international law, including the increasingly significant theoretical questions concerning international organisations.

Professor Lyubomir Popov – One of Bulgaria’s most distinguished civil law scholars, internationally recognised for his work, much of which focused on contractual liability.

Professor Zhivko Stalev – Doctor Honoris Causa of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and a prominent scholar of civil procedural law. He authored more than 300 scholarly works published in Bulgaria and abroad, covering not only civil procedural law but also civil, family and commercial law; private international law; labour law; administrative and constitutional law; and the general theory of law.

The Institute has also been home to many talented scholars who are no longer with us, including Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Aleksandar Rachev; Professor Boris Barov; Professor Venetsi Buzov; Professor Lyubomir Popov; Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Lucien Topalova; Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Simeon Jelepov; Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Ognyan Vartolomeev; Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Tsvetan Tsvetanov; Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Ilko Eskenazi; Professor Radka Radeva; Professor Neno Nenovski; Research Fellow Simeon Hinov; Academician Lyuben Vasilev; Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Nikola Manchev; Associate Professor Nikola Kamenov; Senior Research Fellow, Second Degree, Sava Penkov; and others.