Firstly, today, two of our lawyers – Anna Georgieva and Radostina Mladenova, working with partner Kamen Shoylev – are presenting to an audience drawn from accelerator Eleven’s current crop of teams on two groups of key legal issues for startups. Radostina will discuss practical aspects of intellectual property rights from the perspective of an internet business. She will look at these in the context of cross-border B2C sales and of investments in the business, before moving on to issues of privacy, data protection and consumer-related regulation.

Anna will then take over to deal with a number of key investment documentation / term sheet provisions, focussing in particular on full and weighted ratchet clauses; change of control provisions and redemption rights – all of which are provisions negotiated particularly in post-seed, post-angel financing and which are frequently demanded by venture capitalists before they agree to fund a business.

This week will also see Mini Seedcamp Sofia, at which a number of domestic and several international startups will compete for funding from Europe’s pre-eminent accelerator. NBLO will attend. A list of pitching companies is available on the event page here.

Seedcamp Sofia will be held in the context of a larger conference, the Balkan Venture Forum which New Balkans Law Office, is proud to be a sponsor of alongside Microsoft, VM Ware, Telerik, BlackBerry and others.

This event promises to attract a large audience and to be an opportunity to take stock of how far the space has deepened and widened of late, particularly since last year’s launch of two domestically-based seed funds (Launchub and Eleven) and with the increasing maturity of business models.

NBLO has over the years supported initiatives designed to encourage starting up in technology by means of seminar series, free consultancy by way of competition awards, and by organising a landmark 2010 event “Financing in IT”, which gathered actors with an interest in SEE venture and promoted awareness of the investment class among entrepreneurs.

We look forward to the further maturation of the sector and are excited to see the constellation of high quality events and pitches which await us, for a brilliant end to a startup May.

COPPRA implements the requirements and provision of Council Directive 2009/119/EC imposing an obligation on Member States to maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products (the “Directive”). The Directive, in its turn, reformed the prior EU law regulating energy reserves.

COPPRA aims to ensure a high level of security of oil supply in Bulgaria and ultimately is part of a broader effort for a security of energy supply in the European Community. To do so, it aims to impose reliable and transparent mechanisms in the market for crude and petroleum products, and to mandate the maintenance of minimum stocks of crude and/or petroleum products as well as putting in place procedures to deal with serious shortages. In this respect, COPPRA alters the legal position of a range of companies involved in oil and petroleum products’ production, importation and trade.

New Balkans Law Office will be very happy to advise participants in this marketplace on the overall compliance regime and on the details of the new requirements.

Effect on broader Bulgarian company law

However COPPRA’s Transitional Provisions also amend provisions of the Commerce Act concerning statutory declarations of fitness required to be made by all appointees to the managing and controlling bodies of Bulgarian limited liability and joint-stock companies.

Under the new provisions, where a natural person has been the managing director or a member of a managing or controlling body of a company (eg, its Board of Directors or Supervisory Board, where one is in place), and where the company has breached its obligations under COPPRA, and such a breach has been established by a verdict which has come into force, he or she would be disqualified from being appointed as a director or member of the managing and/or controlling bodies of a Bulgarian limited liability companies and/or joint-stock company.

In practical terms, one of the effects of this amendment is to make it necessary for natural persons proposed to be registered as directors or board members of Bulgarian companies to make an additional statutory declaration of compliance at the time of registration.

Should you require any further information or clarifications on the issues discussed above and on how they might affect the business or investment you are carrying on in Bulgaria, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The Ordinance came into effect almost immediately on promulgation, on 15 February 2013. It revokes a previous Ordinance of the same name, adopted in 2007. The Ordinance introduces new obligations for all controllers of personal data. It affects a very large number of enterprises, since pursuant to the Bulgarian Personal Data Protection Act (“the Act”), a “controller of personal data” (“Data Controller” or simply “Controller”) is “any legal entity, physical person or administrative body, which on its own or together with another, determines the purposes and means for processing personal data”. This definition covers the vast majority of businesses operating in Bulgaria.

With the introduction of the Ordinance, all Controllers will be required to perform impact assessments with regard to the personal data they process. Each register of personal data maintained by a Controller will be subject to impact assessment. The purpose of impact assessment will be to determine the level of impact of potential illegal processing of personal data on specific individuals or group of individuals whose personal data is being processed. Impact assessments will be carried on by Controllers themselves (ie, impact assessments will not be conducted by government officials as such).

Based on its own determination of the level of impact, each Controller will determine the level of protection of the personal data necessary, choosing between the four grades of protection – low, average, high and extremely high. The Ordinance explicitly prescribes the minimum level of technical and organizational measures for protection of personal data for each level.

Controllers are required to become compliant with the impact assessment provisions with regard to existing datasets of personal data within six months after entry into force of the new Ordinance with prescribed protections implemented by Controllers within six to twelve months after execution of the impact assessment.

Afterwards, Controllers will be obliged to conduct impact assessments every two years, or whenever the nature and type of the personal data they process changes.

Other obligations introduced with the new Ordinance include the requirement for Controllers to adopt: (i) a special policy on protection of personal data, and (ii) internal instructions to staff or company officers, describing the databases of personal data processed by the Data Controller and the required data protection measures for each.

Should you require any further information or clarifications on the issues discussed above and on how they might affect the business or investment you are carrying on in Bulgaria, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The presentation, taking place at 08:45 – 10:45 (in Bulgarian, followed by a presentation in English between 11:00 and 12:45) on the 27th November, 2012 in the “Plovdiv” Hall at the World Trade Center/Interpred Sofia, will provide a comprehensive guide for business leaders on the complex area of tax law.

WHY ATTEND?

Innovative and robust tax solutions are becoming increasingly important to our clients: whether they are domestic or international. The area of tax legislation and practice in Bulgaria has grown in complexity, and with further developments in the coming year, we have decided to jointly offer this presentation free of charge to business leaders.

The presentation will offer an overview of tax law developments in 2012 and upcoming changes in 2013. The analysis of future developments will ensure participants will be prepared for the coming year.

Of particular focus will be the connection between EU law developments and tax and Kamen Shoylev of NBLO will introduce the role of the CJEU and how EU law can be relied on in defence of tax rights, with Anelia Tatarova detailing the significance of recent Bulgarian references and domestic decisions in the area of tax with EU law significance.

UPDATES FOLLOWING THE EVENT

All participants in the seminar will receive information on tax rulings of interest delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) between the presentation date and the end of 2012. Further, all participants will be notified of any changes in the final versions of the domestic tax statutes introduced between the date of the presentation and the date of the coming into force of the legislation discussed.

Download our detailed programme of the event here: Tax Law Presentation Brochure

Register for the event by visiting: http://taxlaw2012-2013.eventbrite.co.uk

or by emailing: events@newbalkanslawoffice.com

We look forward to meeting you!

One of the qualities we appreciate most about the festival is the impressive range of talent that it attracts each year. From classical music, to jazz, folk music, poetry, dance and beyond, there is representation from nearly every musical and art genre—a true reflection of Bulgaria’s diverse artistic history.

Supporting the arts is very important to us at New Balkans Law Office, and it is wonderful to see Bulgarian culture promoted in London. We look forward to another extraordinary year at the London Festival of Bulgarian culture, and hope you enjoy this memorable experience with your friends and family.

If you would like to find out more about the events the Festival offers, please find attached a link to the programme here. You can also visit the official London Festival of Bulgarian culture website here.

Seedcamp is an early stage mentoring and investment program that engages startups through monthly Seedcamp Events, where entrepreneurs present their companies, network, receive mentoring, and compete for investment by Seedcamp. For more information, visit: http://www.seedcamp.com/ On the 18th April, 2012, Kamen Shoylev, NBLO’s Managing Partner, participated as a mentor at Seedcamp Tallinn.

Commenting on the event, Mr Shoylev remarked: “I was very impressed with the high level of entries to the event. I found the experience of mentoring the entrepreneurs very rewarding, and look forward to following their progress.”

The event featured 8 local teams as well as representatives from Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, and Russia. Participants from Sweden, France, UK and Slovenia also attended. NBLO is delighted to continue to support such events.

For entrepreneurs interested in finding out how to safeguard the legal interests of your company, please get in touch. We would be happy to discuss the specific details of your case.

The Conference opened with a speech from the President of Bulgaria, Mr Plevneliev, and consisted of seven panels which covered:

• The Development of the Trans – European Transport Network and priority axes for the territory of Bulgaria. Environmental infrastructure of Bulgaria 2012.

• The Strategic development of Railway, water and air transport in Bulgaria.

• Development of the project of expansion of Sofia subway – stages 1, 2 and 3.

• Development of the road infrastructure of the Trans – European and the basic national transport axes, funded by OP Transport, 2012.

• Development of major airports and seaports in Bulgaria.

• Bulgarian water legislation and water policy.

• Waste management in Bulgaria.

Overall, the picture painted of Bulgarian Infrastructure was an overwhelmingly positive one:  for example, the Road Infrastructure panel focused on  260 km of highway currently under construction. By the end of 2020, an additional 460 of strategic roads are to be finalised. With regards to railway infrastructure, projects to be concluded by 2020 include the modernisation the following railways: Sofia – Plovdiv; Plovdiv – Burgas; Sofia station and Sofia intermodal terminal and Ruse intermodal terminal; the rehabilitation of Ruse- Varna and Mezdra – Gorna Oriahovica; the modernisation of Ruse – Dimitrovgrad and the overall modernisation of railway stations.

Legal Developments: Public-Private Partnerships

An important and persistently occurring theme throughout the conference was a shift towards using public-private partnerships as a means to raise necessary funds in all spheres. At present, the PPP draft legislation in Bulgaria is in Parliament for consideration, but it is predicted that it will come into force by the end of 2012.

The introduction of the new legislation presents a good opportunity for private companies in the sector.

For a detailed analysis of Infrastructure legislation and information on the legal services we offer, please consult our NBLO Infrastructure Note.

The evening was a wonderful chance to connect with other Oxbridge and LSE alumni working in Sofia and for the community to mingle. Several exciting new initiatives were discussed, and the event is a good basis future cooperation between alumni groups. We hope that this is one of many events of its type, building on the success of the first.

If you are interested in hearing about future events, or would like to share your ideas about  talks, conferences or other ways to draw on the network, please get in touch with Denny Jicheva (denny.jicheva@newbalkanslawoffice.com).  We would be delighted to hear from you.

To read about how we can assist you, and for a list of our family law services, please download our brochure. The brochure is available by clicking here:

NBLO – FAMILY LAW SERVICES

Alternatively,  Contact Us directly.

The second part of the note describes the treatment of awards and determinations by other bodies. This includes a discussion of how various regulatory, quasi-judicial and self-regulatory bodies and interact with court judgments, as well as considering how “Brussels regime” judgments are enforced.

To download our note, please click here:

NBLO ENFORCEMENT CLIENT NOTE

NBLO also contributed a section on enforcement and civil remedies from a foreign investor perspective in the Invest Bulgaria Agency’s “Legal Guide to Bulgaria”.  This was published as a chapter in editions in 2010 and 2011. The contribution can be found here:  http://investbg.government.bg/

Topics the event will cover:

• Avoiding or mitigating disputes in large scale international construction projects
• Advanced topics in standard international contract terms in construction and infrastructure
• Relations between consortium partners in infrastructure consortia
• The impact of EU law on the development, structure and progress of construction and
infrastructure projects in Bulgaria

The event is essential for senior executives in the industry. Places for this free event are limited to 25, with a maximum of two delegates per company.  The event will be held in English, and  a Bulgarian simultaneous translation will be provided.

Reserving your place is easy: simply write directly to New Balkans’ Law Office’s Manager, maria.taneva@newbalkanslawoffice.com or call us at: +359 2 403 1900.

The Seminar took the format of a 40-minute presentation followed by Q&A and a networking opportunity, between 16:00 – 17:30 on the 31st October, and was held at the Hilton Dubai Creek.

“Bulgarian Investment Climate” complemented other talks at the 2011 IBA Conference. The event aimed to offer guidance on the investment climate in Bulgaria to lawyers whose clients have an interest in the Central and Eastern European region or who are more broadly interested in using the modern legal framework and the cost advantages of Bulgaria to step into the EU marketplace.

Topics the seminar covered included:

1. Stable political environment & low country risk (NATO membership; EU membership)
2. Macroeconomic and financial stability
3. EU’s most favourable taxes:

• 10% corporate income tax rate; 0% in high-unemployment areas
• 10% flat tax rate on personal income
• 2-year VAT exemption for imports of equipment for investment projects over € 5 million, creating at least 50 jobs
• opportunity for R&D expenditure write-off
• 5% withholding tax on dividends and liquidation quotas (0% for EU tax residents)

Should you have any questions about the event, simply e-mail Miss Denny Jicheva, Business Development Associate at denny.jicheva@newbalkanslawoffice.com.

According to the new paragraph 8 of Article 25, NNBA, when performing legal acts for the creation, transfer, amendment or termination of property rights in real estates for consideration, the parties are obliged to declare in the contract itself that the price specified in it is the agreed consideration. Pursuant to the new para. 9 of Article 25, NNBA, where the total consideration due under the contract exceeds BGN 10,000, any payment of that consideration must be effected either to a special bank account of the notary, or to a bank account chosen by the parties.

A new Article 25a, NNBA institutes such notary public-held accounts.

The terms on which payments by the parties are made to the special notary bank account and the deposits are then disbursed are set out in a written agreement between the notary and the parties to the contract.

Such accounts are protected from enforcement for obligations of the notary.

These new provisions correspond to recommendations of the European Commission to Member State governments to legislate for the prevention of money laundering through property transactions, as well as for tackling corruption and property fraud. The changes also prevent concealing the real consideration. In turn, this cures evasion of local taxes payable upon acquisition of real estates and improves the quality of market information.

Less obviously, the changes in the NNBA would help in proving the authenticity of effected payments, as well as the receipt of the agreed price by the party to the contract. This should reduce litigation, enhance the legal certainty of the property transactions and the legitimate expectations of the interested persons.

In previous proceedings before it, the Commission had denied that the hospital had acted as a data controller in relation to its patients’ records, within the meaning of the Bulgarian Personal Data Protection Act (“PDPA”). Consequently, the Commission had proceeded to deny that the PDPA imposed obligations on the hospital to ensure the exercise of the Applicant’s usual rights under art. 26 of PDPA .

The hospital had earlier refused requests to provide the medical records twice, claiming invalidity of the requests to it, but without specifying. The Supreme Administrative Court found that after two express but unreasoned refusals to provide the medical records, the arguments of the hospital as to irregularity were spurious. A request for disclosure could be either valid or invalid, but with valid requests capable of being defective. The fact that the request had been refused twice indicated that the data controller had accepted its validity, but had found it defective. If it had been defective, the correct procedure for the data controller should have been to request the removal of the defects, following which the data controller should have considered the request on its merits.

The failures to instruct the Applicant individual how to remove the supposed irregularity and to provide the file, were found to have constituted violations of the Applicant’s rights under art. 26 PDPA and the following.

Bulgarian data protection and the assistance granted by the regulator – the Commission – is still in a nascent state. Applications by patients for the disclosure of their medical records in particular are often treated timidly, partly because of a domestic paternalistic tradition in medical care. The sound decision of the Supreme Administrative Court is thus a welcome addition to the jurisprudence in this area.

Yoana Ivanova, an associate, and Svetlyo Ivanov, of counsel, represented the Applicant (on her own behalf and on the behalf of her infant child).

The beneficiaries of this species of right may only be sports federations, and the right permits only the construction of sport buildings and/or facilities. The right to build can be of no greater than 30 years’ duration. To take advantage of the right, a sports federation needs to meet the requirements in para. 2 of article 50(g)(ie, “г”). The beneficiary would need to complete construction and obtain a usage permit for the structure and/or facility within 5 years of the grant of the right.

Although the right is granted free of charge, all planning, design, construction and usage permit application costs have to be borne by the sports federation. The sports federation is not entitled to transfer the right to build in any way whatsoever and may not dispose of the building and/or facility during the duration of the right to build. The right to build cannot be used to secure the contractual obligations of the federation or third parties either (which is a less understandable restriction which surely minimises the range of efficient uses which the beneficiary could make). The beneficiary must cover the costs of reversion of title to the state or municipality on the termination of the contract establishing the right to build.

It remains to be seen to what extent this will permit an optimisation of financing arrangements for sports facilities, but it would certainly be capable of assisting those sports federations which are able to mobilise state support in order to make lawful arrangements where they would not otherwise be able to.

Another interesting amendment to PESA in 2010 was the new para. 3 in Article 35 (d) (“e” in the Bulgarian text). According to it, a sportsman or woman may now be represented by a range of other agents (including an attorney-at-law, parent or spouse) in negotiations over transfer rights, while previously such representation was only permitted to a registered specialist intermediary.

Given the large number of practising Bulgarian attorneys in particular, we fully expect this to have a liberating effect on the local transfer marketplace, as well as on some outbound transfers.

Follow-up edit: Capital has just published a Special Report on sports infrastructure and sports property development (in Bulgarian only).

A new law (the Limits to Cash Payments Act 2011 (“LCPA”)) was enacted on February 22, 2011, and is already in force. LCPA mandates that payments must be made either by bank transfer, or by a deposit into a payment services provider’s account followed by an onward payment from that provider’s account to the intended beneficiary.

The LCPA applies to all payments in excess of Lv 15,000 (some €7,670) or their equivalent in another currency.

The prohibition is intended to catch also series of contractually linked payments (eg, a series of instalments of the purchase price of a property, or a series of monthly rental payments on a property). Although each payment may itself be below the threshold, when together they exceed Lv 15,000 (€7,670) the payments are caught by the LCPA. All payments under the contract would need to be made in the prescribed manner, starting with the first of the instalments.

Exemptions

The following are expressly exempted:

- withdrawals and deposits of cash out of/into one’s own current bank account(s) as well as accounts held by certain dependants or persons in the care of the drawer/depositor (payments in and out of the bank account of any other persons need to be made by bank transfer from another bank account);

- transactions by those trading in foreign currency;

- certain transactions with the Bulgarian State;

- employment and related remuneration;

- payments by cheque or payments in lieu (datio in solutum).

The stated aim of the Act is to channel into the formal economy payments now in the grey economy. By encouraging transparency in respect of transactions, the government also hopes to increase tax revenue. (See the Directions issued by the Ministry of Finance on the application of the Act (in Bulgarian only)).

Use Cash at Your Peril

The penalties for breach of the new rules are staggering: 25% of the amount transacted where the offender is an individual, and 50% of the amount where legal persons are concerned, with the fine doubled for second and subsequent violations.

The penalty is borne by the payor and/or by any person who permits a breach to occur (it remains to be seen how far the courts would recognise accessory liability for those that may be said to have merely permitted by not facilitated a breach).

Practical Points to Note

Property Owners/Renters

An overseas seller/buyer of a Bulgarian property would be affected by the new Act in relation to the purchase money where the purchase money is paid entirely within Bulgaria. Because of the requirement of Bulgarian property law that property transactions be completed at local notary offices, this would generally apply to purchase monies, except where the buyer and seller agree to exchange it outside of Bulgaria (before or exceptionally, immediately after, the property sale).

However, rent paid in cash by a renter of a Borovetz chalet to its owner at a meeting in Birmingham would not be affected by the Act.

Consultants/Company Directors/Shareholders

Payments due to anyone who is not an employee within the terms of the Bulgarian Labour Code (eg, a shareholder receiving a dividend) must, going forward, be transacted through the banking system where they are deemed to have occurred in Bulgaria. Companies would need to ensure they are compliant when remunerating staff or distributing to shareholders.

Conclusion

The practical effect of the Act is yet to be assessed. In residential and holiday property transactions, a large percentage of which used to see the bulk of the purchase price exchanged in cash, the law is likely to have a noticeable effect and may have the welcome consequence of providing better quality data on this market and increasing tax compliance. However, buyers and especially sellers bent on avoidance have historically used a number of avoidance techniques which may now be revived/adopted widely. These may have the further effect of raising the legal transactional risks (eg, a part of the price being paid as a fee to an offshore entity).

As with similar proscriptive initiatives, the LCPA may have a moderate effect given the persistence of the culture it attempts to change, while in the meantime generating substantial work for businesses and individuals looking to ensure compliance.

The Act would possibly make the enforcement and verification tasks of National Revenue Agency officials easier – taxpayers would no longer easily be able to plead loans, consultancy fees and similar (at least where said to have been paid domestically) as means of explaining income or outgoings – at the risk of a steep fine for failing to evidence these through banking transactions.

This typically forces the hand of the client, who may often be more concerned to proceed with his plans (and necessarily, make use of his documents) than to dispute the lawyer’s fee claims. Would clients be less amenable if they realise that such assertions by lawyers are on thinner ice in Bulgaria than they may be elsewhere?

Unlike other legal systems (eg, the rights that English solicitors may be able to exercise), Bulgarian law does not envisage the possibility of a lien by an advocate.

On the contrary, there is an express statutory obligation on advocates to return to his or her client his or her original documents, after the end of an instruction (art. 47 (1) Bulgarian Bar Act). General rules as to the right of lien would apply only insofar as they are strictly compatible with the provisions of the lex specialis, here, the special provisions of the Bar Act. The use of the rights of lien would thus appear to be strictly limited to certain cases and certain narrow conditions, interpreted against the proposer of a right of lien.

Bulgarian law in this area would appear to relate to the distinction between official and private documents.  A lawyer may be able to withhold a contract, proxy, statement, court claim or in general a private document drafted by him- or herself on his or her client’s request, in case the client has not paid.

But at the moment this document becomes “official” – in the broadest meaning of this word, namely the contract, proxy, etc. is certified by a Notary, a draft statement of claim is filed at court, the lawyer would not have the right to refuse to hand over the document to the client. The one area where a right of lien may remain as a residual right would relate to the drafts of official documents – notary deeds, writs of execution, freezing injunction order, notary certified agreement or declaration or to documents which are otherwise entirely private but would never extend to “official” documents.

To download our brochure on the citizenship, please click on the following link:

Citizenship on the basis of origin

For information on other routes to citizenship, please consult our brochures on citizenship on the basis of residence and the Investor Program in Bulgaria.

The process of deciding on the best route to citizenship, obtaining citizenship and collating the necessary documents can appear daunting. New Balkans Law Office will advise on the best solution for a client’s needs, and offer support throughout the process ensuring that the correct and full set is filed from the start. The following brochure intends to give a broad overview.

To download the brochure, please click on the link below:

The Investor Program for Residence and Citizenship

To download the brochure, click on the link below:

NBLO: Acquiring Citizenship on the basis of Residence

Similar restrictions were already in place for members of the boards of directors, the managing and the supervising boards of joint-stock companies but are now extended to private limited companies and sole traderships.

The recent changes to the Commerce Act were motivated by a desire to clamp down on non-payment of public debts. This was said to be causing losses to the state coffers and had the risk of skewing competition. One way to restrict non-compliance was to penalise individuals supervising such breaches.

Due to the introduction of the new restrictions, the Registry Agency (housing the Bulgarian company register) has announced that declarations for non-existence of the circumstances listed in Art. 21, Para 3, Art. 57, point 4 and Art. 141, Para 8, CA will be required with immediate effect for all new filings. Failure to declare accordingly would most likely lead to a refusal for registration of the filing.

Several key amendments, relevant to the photovoltaic solar sector are introduced. We focus on two: the introduction of a fixed FiT level for the life of each Power Purchase Agreement and an attempt to introduce predictability in the capacity available for grid connections by agreeing detailed plans at the beginning of each 1 year period.

We find that the approach of having a fixed price/FiT level for the life of each agreement or 25 years (whichever is the shorter) is superior to the existing approach to pricing and contributes to certainty;

We would expect that there is a substantial risk that authorities and the Regional Electricity Distributors (REDs) would experience uncertainty as to the legal position in advance of the coming into effect of the new legislation and would lose enthusiasm in implementing the existing position – we would strongly urge that the Bill contains an express statement (of the obvious point) that the applicable regime remains in place until a named future date;

As regards one of the other major innovations — the introduction of a system of advance planning of the available capacity, we find this on the whole positive but would caution as follows:

a) a flattening of the decision-making structure may be preferable;

b) a greater clarity and spelling out of procedure as to the planning process would be needed at the level of implementing regulations under the Statute (and no doubt is being planned);

c) an express obligation for REDs and SCEWR/NEC to make public specific data (eg, access maps by capacity and levels of connectible voltage) (eg, via the web as well as their offices) may be recommended;

d) mechanisms for private as well as private enforcement (carefully considered and agreed for their practicability with stakeholders) would be highly desirable.

Download the brochure here:

http://www.newbalkanslawoffice.com/english/downloads/NBLO_PRIVATE_EQUITY_BROCHURE.pdf

NBLO  also provided descriptions of the Bulgarian law relating to private equity and venture capital and, separately, of the law on enforcement and civil remedies, from a foreign investor perspective for the Invest Bulgaria Agency (http://investbg.government.bg/). These were published as chapters of the English-language ‘Legal Guide to Bulgaria’ editions in 2010 and 2011.