Constitution (2004)

REFERENDUMS HELD ON EUROPEAN MATTERS: None

CONSTITUTIONAL CONDITIONS - Constitution of Bulgaria

ARTICLES ABOUT INTERNATIONAL TREATIES, REFERENDUM AND CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS

Art. 5 (4) Any international treaties which have been ratified by the constitutionally established procedure, promulgated and having come into force with respect to the Republic of Bulgaria, shall be considered part of the domestic legislation of the country. They shall supersede any domestic legislation stipulating otherwise.

Art. 22 (2) The law ratifying the international treaty referred to in para 1 shall be adopted by a majority of two thirds of all members of the Parliament.

Art. 85 (1) The National Assembly shall ratify or denounce by law all international treaties which:
1. are of a political or military nature;
2. concern the Republic of Bulgaria's participation in international organizations;
3. envisage corrections to the borders of the Republic of Bulgaria;
4. contain obligations for the treasury;
5. envisage the state's participation in international arbitration or legal proceedings;
6. concern fundamental human rights;
7. affect the action of the law or require new legislation in order to be enforced;
8. expressly require ratification;
9. (new, SG 18/05) confer to the European Union powers ensuing from this Constitution.
(2) (new, SG 18/05) The law ratifying the international treaty referred to in para 1, item 9 shall be adopted by a majority of two-thirds of all members of the Parliament.
(3) (former para 2, SG 18/05) Treaties ratified by the National Assembly may be amended or denounced only by their built-in procedure or in accordance with the universally acknowledged norms of international law.
(4) (former para 3, SG 18/05) The conclusion of an international treaty requiring an amendment to the Constitution shall be preceded by the passage of such an amendment.

Art. 158 A Grand National Assembly shall:
2. resolve on any changes in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria and ratify any international treaty envisaging such a change.
3. resolve on any changes in the form of state structure or form of government;

Art. 154 (1) The initiative to introduce a constitutional amendment bill shall belong to one quarter of the Members of the National Assembly and to the President.
(2) An amendment bill shall be debated by the National Assembly not earlier than one month and not later than three months from the date on which it is introduced.

Art. 155 (1) A constitutional amendment shall require a majority of three quarters of the votes of all Members of the National Assembly in three ballots on three different days.
(2) A bill which has received less than three quarters but more than two-thirds of the votes of all Members shall be eligible for reintroduction after not fewer than two months and not more than five months. To be passed at this new reading, the bill shall require a majority of two-thirds of the votes of all Members.

RATING AND DEBATE

On 21.03.2008, 193 deputies out of the 209 present in the 240-seat parliament approved the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty at a special ceremonial seating. "The Lisbon Treaty is the finalisation of a very long and hard process that many feared would fail to reach a successful outcome" Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev told the parliament encouraging it to ratify the treaty. All three parties in government, the left-wing Bulgarian Socialist party, the centrist National Movement for Stability and Progress of former king Simeon Saxe Coburg and the Turkish minority Movement for Rights and Freedoms, endorsed the treaty with unanimity. It was also supported by the right-wing opposition and certain independent deputies and championed by President Georgy Parvanov.
But the ultra-nationalist party Ataka voted against ratification, its leader said, by creating the posts of EU president and European foreign policy, the Lisbon Treaty "creates a new super state in which Bulgaria loses its sovereignty," he said.

PROCEDURE

Parliamentary vote

STATE OF THE PROCEDURE

On 21.03.2008, 193 deputies out of the 209 present in the 240-seat parliament approved the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty at a special ceremonial seating.

RELEVANT DOCUMENTS AND MATERIAL