Marking 75 Years of the ECHR
The Law and Internet Foundation, participated in a conference on the 21st of November 2025, organised by the Sofia Bar Association, marking the 75th anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the professional holiday of Bulgarian lawyers.
The conference, titled ‘Achievements and Challenges in the Protection of Fundamental Rights in Bulgaria and in Europe’, opened with a session highlighting the role of the legal profession in defending rights and freedoms and reaffirmed the relevance of the ECHR as Europe’s central human rights instrument. The event brought together lawyers, judges, civil society representatives, and academics.
Panel I
The first panel, focused on the fundamental rights protection in Bulgaria national legal remedies and the ECHR mechanisms. Former judges of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), judge Zdravka Kalaydjieva and judge Yonko Grozev, reflected on the Convention system and its impact on Bulgaria.
Other contributors provided insights into the relationship between ECHR and EU law, as well as the implementation of Strasbourg judgments at national level. The panel also addressed Article 13 of the ECHR on effective remedies, the EU’s planned accession to the ECHR, and related notions, such as the Bosphorus presumption. Recent case law developments exemplifying the relationship between EU and ECHR law, such as the Spasov v Romania case, were also discussed during the panel discussions.
Panel II
The second panel, focused on the impact of ECHR jurisprudence on civil litigation in Bulgaria. Speakers addressed a range of topics, including, civil asset forfeiture, Article 8 of the ECHR and the practice on gender change recognition, including a decision of the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation on the matter. Other topics discussed during the panel were the right to healthcare in the case law of the ECtHR and its reflection in Bulgarian law as well as the protection of private life and freedom of expression in national jurisprudence, specifically in cases of damages for insult and defamation.
Panel III
The third panel focused on the impact of the ECHR on criminal law and justice in Bulgaria. Speakers discussed key ECHR standards relating to the use of special investigative measures, judicial reviews of actions in the pre-trial phase, protection against hate speech in criminal law proceedings, the practice of ECtHR and Bulgarian courts. Speakers also commented recent legislative reforms at the national level and the practical use of the ECHR in Bulgarian courtrooms.
The conference underscored that 75 years after its adoption, the ECHR continues to be a compass for safeguarding rights, and that its future will depend on commitments and collaborations at both national and European levels.
