The Institute for the State and the Law at BAS held the Fifth National Conference of Doctoral Students in the Field of Legal Sciences

From 11 to 14 June 2015, the Fifth National Conference of Doctoral Students in the Field of Legal Sciences was held at the Sunny Beach resort.
These conferences are held on the initiative of the Institute for the State and the Law at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. It is well known that the Institute enjoys a good reputation as a national centre for the training of doctoral students in the field of legal sciences. It is also well known that, despite the low salaries of scholars at BAS, around 10 law graduates apply for each announced competition for an assistant professor at the Institute. Interest in the various forms of doctoral training is shown not only by young lawyers but also by able professionals who are already established in practice as judges, prosecutors and advocates. 
Forty-five doctoral students from the Institute for the State and the Law and from law faculties across the country took part in the conference.
In his opening address, the Director of the ISL, Prof. Tsvetana Kamenova, DSc, noted that the number of applicants submitting a request to participate increases every year. As in previous years, representatives of almost all law faculties in the country took part in the conference; apart from the hosts, the most numerous were the representatives of Sofia University and Plovdiv University.
The participants in the conference met together, but their papers were divided into four sections according to the field in which they work, namely: civil law sciences, public law sciences, international law sciences and criminal law sciences.
The papers in the field of civil law sciences were presented at the session of the section chaired by Assoc. Prof. Grigor Grigorov, PhD, Chair of the Scientific Council of the Institute. Eight papers by doctoral students from the ISL at BAS and from Sofia University, Plovdiv University and Veliko Tarnovo University were heard. Each presenter delivered his or her paper in about 10 minutes, after which a lively discussion took place. Particular interest was aroused by the papers of the doctoral student Martin Babarov on the problems and challenges facing the harmonisation of EU company law, of the doctoral student Ivaylo Vasilev on the registration of a request by a creditor of the deceased or by a legatee for the separation of the immovable property of the deceased, and of the doctoral student Georgi Minov concerning the lessor's obligation to deliver the leased object. 
In the criminal law sciences panel, seven papers were presented on topical issues in substantive and procedural criminal law. In his paper entitled "Cyberterrorism as a Serious Threat to Humanity", Gentian Kochi, a doctoral student at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", focused on the main problems in the prevention of computer crime. Nataliya Ivanova, a doctoral student at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", in her paper entitled "Criminal Law Protection of Justice in the Republic of Bulgaria", dwelt on the elements of offences against justice. A broad discussion was provoked by the paper of Dimitar Mladenov, a doctoral student at the Institute for the State and the Law, entitled "The Lack of Independence of Lay Judges in Criminal Proceedings". In view of the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code promulgated on 9 June this year, the topic "Measures of Procedural Coercion Ordered by the Court at the Pre-Trial Stage" also emerged as particularly topical; the paper on it was presented by Petya Konstantinova, a doctoral student at Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski". Interesting opinions, substantiated on the basis of comparative legal analysis, were shared by Stanislava Nacheva, a doctoral student at the Institute for the State and the Law, in her paper entitled "In dubio pro reo, or the Interpretation of Doubts in Favour of the Accused". Numerous questions and opinions were prompted by the paper of Vanya Ilieva, a doctoral student at the Institute for the State and the Law, entitled "Problems in Proving Negative Facts in Criminal Proceedings". The last paper, entitled "Court Rulings under Art. 306, para. 1, items 1, 2 and 3 of the Criminal Procedure Code – Legal Nature and Instance Control", was presented by Adelina Hadzhiyska, a doctoral student at the Institute for the State and the Law. In the lively discussion on the topics of the papers that followed, doctoral students took part not only from the field of criminal law sciences but also from the other fields of law, in view of the interdisciplinary nature of some of the topics and the usefulness of all of them for every practising lawyer. The discussion was chaired by Assoc. Prof. Ekaterina Salkova, PhD, Head of the Department of Criminal Law at the ISL.
The sections on public law sciences and on international law sciences were chaired by Prof. Tsvetana Kamenova, DSc, Director of the Institute for the State and the Law and Head of the Department of International Law.
The participants in the public law sciences section were the most numerous. This was to be expected, since their work addressed problems of constitutional law as well as of legal theory, administrative law and tax law. The following were discussed: the legal regulation of the ombudsman in our constitutional law – by the doctoral student Natasha Tseneva of Plovdiv University "P. Hilendarski"; the idea of political representation in Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan – by Aleksandra Kovacheva of the Faculty of Law of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"; various problems of administrative law related to health insurance – Momchil Mavrov (Plovdiv University "P. Hilendarski") and Antoniya Ilieva (Plovdiv University "P. Hilendarski"); e-government and local self-government – Mihaela Dotsova (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"), Konstantin Grigorov (ISL), Valentin Kamenov (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski") and Kalina Georgieva (Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"); administrative and audit acts – Nedyalka Petrova (Plovdiv University "P. Hilendarski") and Stefka Kemalova (Plovdiv University "Kl. Ohridski"); special jurisdictions and the application of the Administrative Procedure Code – Irina Paleva and Milka Lambeva (Veliko Tarnovo University "St. St. Cyril and Methodius").
In the international law sciences section, the emphasis was placed on several thematic areas: the future reform of the Security Council, the termination of international treaties, European integration and the problems arising from it, and the international legal position of the countries of the Western Balkans.
On the reform of the Security Council (SC), the doctoral student Enyo Savov of South-West University "N. Rilski" dwelt on the discussions that have been held over the past ten years in various forums of this universal international organisation. During the discussion it was established that the actual policy and positions of the permanent members of the SC diverge from the wishes of researchers in the field of international law. In connection with the operation of international treaties, Viktor Serafimov (South-West University "N. Rilski") expressed a position on topical questions of our country's practice; in connection with Bulgaria's participation in the ECHR, the doctoral student Mariya Hristozova of Plovdiv University "P. Hilendarski" presented reflections on the concept of a fair trial under Art. 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, while Vladimir Valev and Petar Vasilev of Plovdiv University "P. Hilendarski" analysed the European arrest warrant and the right to free movement. Stoyan Memtsov and Stanislav Stanev, also of Plovdiv University "P. Hilendarski", devoted their scientific papers to the international law problems of the countries of the Western Balkans.
The scientific papers presented at the conference are published in the volumes "Scientific Works of the ISL", and the participants receive certificates from the Institute for the State and the Law and the Training Centre at BAS.
In conclusion, the 45 participants in the conference expressed their satisfaction with the annual holding of this scientific forum, organised by the ISL at BAS, and with the opportunity to exchange ideas not only on the topics of the papers presented but also on the topics of the dissertations they are preparing.