Bulgarian Supreme Court decisions: how to find and read them
A practical guide to finding Supreme Court of Cassation (ВКС) acts: act types, Art. 64 of the Judiciary System Act, the ECLI number and a search strategy.
Contents7 sections
- 1.The legal framework: the duty to publish under Art. 64 ЗСВ
- 2.Types of ВКС court acts
- 3.Where they are published: the three official portals
- 4.How to read an act's identification: number, case, ECLI
- 5.A strategy for effective research of ВКС case law
- 6.The limits of the official portals and what is missing
- 7.A practical guide to finding an act quickly
Every practising lawyer needs acts of the Supreme Court of Cassation (ВКС) almost daily, but the official search is scattered across three separate portals, outdated interfaces and CAPTCHA checks. The result is lost time and the risk of missing relevant case law just because you searched the wrong database or used the wrong identifier.
In this guide we put the whole picture in order: the legal duty to publish under Art. 64 of the Judiciary System Act (ЗСВ), the types of act the ВКС issues, where each of them is published and how to research effectively. The aim is a practical handbook that the official portals do not provide.
❓Where are the court acts of the ВКС published?
Source: ЗСВ, Art. 64(1)
The legal framework: the duty to publish under Art. 64 ЗСВ
The publicity of court acts is not a matter of administration but a legal duty. Art. 64 of the Judiciary System Act (ЗСВ) sets out the publication regime. It contains one general rule and one significant exception that a practitioner needs to know, in order to know which acts they can and cannot expect to find immediately.
Judiciary System Act (ЗСВ)
Art. 64(1)
The general rule: immediate publication after the act is issued, with protection of personal data.
Official Bulgarian text
„Актовете на съдилищата, с изключение на тези по наказателни дела, с които подсъдимият е осъден да изтърпи съответно наказание, се публикуват незабавно след постановяването им на интернет страницата на съответния съд при спазване изискванията за защита на личните данни и Закона за защита на класифицираната информация.“
The exception matters in practice. Acts in criminal cases in which the defendant has been sentenced to serve a penalty are not published immediately but under the special procedure of paragraph 2. That means a conviction will not appear in the database straight after it is issued, but only after the prosecutor notifies the court of the steps taken to put it into effect.
Judiciary System Act (ЗСВ)
Art. 64(2)
The special regime for criminal convicting acts, in connection with Art. 416(7) of the Criminal Procedure Code (НПК).
Official Bulgarian text
„Решенията, с които присъдите са влезли в сила, се публикуват на страницата на съответния съд след уведомление от прокурора за предприети действия по привеждането им в изпълнение.“
The constitutional basis of all the work of the ВКС is Art. 124 of the Constitution. It also explains why the case law of the cassation court has a guiding significance that goes beyond the individual case.
Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria
Art. 124
The constitutional function from which the importance of cassation case law derives.
Official Bulgarian text
„Върховният касационен съд осъществява върховен съдебен надзор за точното и еднакво прилагане на законите от всички съдилища.“
Types of ВКС court acts
Before you search for an act, you need to know what kind of act you are looking for. The ВКС issues several different kinds of act, which differ in their legal effect, in whether they can be appealed and in how they are indexed in the databases. Mixing them up is a common reason for a failed search.
| Type of act | What it decides | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Decision (решение) | The case on the merits: civil, commercial and criminal cassation cases | A final act; forms case law |
| Ruling (определение) | Procedural questions, the progress of the case, admission to cassation appeal under Art. 288 of the Civil Procedure Code (ГПК) | Does not decide the dispute on the merits; some rulings can be appealed |
| Order (разпореждане) | Matters for the reporting judge alone | An administrative act outside the judicial panel |
| Sentence (присъда) | A criminal-law dispute on the merits | Subject to the special publication regime under Art. 64(2) ЗСВ |
| Interpretative decision (тълкувателно решение) | Interpretation where case law is conflicting or incorrect | Binding on the bodies of the judicial and executive power; a separate regime |
The main types of ВКС act and their legal effect.
❓What is the difference between a decision, a ruling and an order of the ВКС?
Source: ГПК, Art. 288 et seq.
Where they are published: the three official portals
In practice ВКС acts are found in three places, each with its own logic, strengths and weaknesses. The choice between them depends on what exactly you know about the act you are looking for.
| Portal | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|
| vks.bg (the ВКС's own database) | Full text of decisions after 01.10.2008; search by case number, parties and court details | Outdated interface; ВКС only; PDF files without metadata |
| legalacts.justice.bg (Unified Portal) | Combined search across all courts; rich filters (court, case type, act type, status, ECLI, keywords) | CAPTCHA check; purely a search engine with no explanation of the fields; no analytical layer |
| e-justice.europa.eu (European portal) | A descriptive overview of the Bulgarian system; an authoritative source; links to the national databases | Not a stand-alone database; general and bureaucratic; examples from earlier years |
The three official sources of ВКС acts and when to use each.
Fragmentation doubles your research time
An important limit on scope: the full text of ВКС decisions is publicly available for acts issued after 1 October 2008, with personal data removed. For older case law, rely on specialised collections and academic sources.
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
How to read an act's identification: number, case, ECLI
The most common reason for a failed search is confusion between the number of the act and the number of the case. These are two different identifiers, and the databases index them in separate fields. The standard citation structure is: Decision No. XXX of DD.MM.YYYY in [type] case No. YYY/YYYY of the ВКС, [division or the civil/commercial/criminal chamber].
How to read the identification of a ВКС act
The number of the act
The number immediately after the type of act (for example “Decision No. 170”). This is the running number of the act in the relevant year, not of the case.
The date of issue
The date after the number of the act. It is key for checking the status and for calculating deadlines.
The type and number of the case
For example “criminal case No. 187/2026” or “civil case (гр. д.) No. 3661/2019”. This is a separate identifier from the number of the act. Enter it in the case field, not the act field.
Court and panel
“of the ВКС, IV г.о.” (fourth civil division) shows the court and the division. In legalacts.justice.bg the panel is a separate field for filtering.
The ECLI number
European Case Law Identifier: a standardised identifier that allows an act to be referred to unambiguously, whatever the national database. When it is available, it is the most reliable way to search.
❓What is an ECLI number on a court act?
Source: European e-Justice Portal
A strategy for effective research of ВКС case law
Effective research starts with choosing a portal according to what you already know. If you have a case number or the names of the parties, start from vks.bg. If you are doing a thematic search on a legal question and have no specific act in mind, start from legalacts.justice.bg and use the filters for case type, act type and keywords.
When searching by keyword, always include derived forms and synonyms of the legal concepts. The databases search literally, and legal terminology has many grammatical and lexical variants. Missing one form often means missing relevant case law.
Checking the status of the act is a separate and equally important step. Before you rely on an act, establish whether it has entered into force, whether a higher instance has amended or overturned it and whether it contradicts a later interpretative decision. This is also the place for one basic rule on the reliability of precedent.
Judiciary System Act (ЗСВ)
Art. 10(3)
The principle of stability of final acts, on which the reliability of the case law you cite rests.
Official Bulgarian text
„Влезлите в сила съдебни актове се отменят само в предвидените със закон случаи.“
Checklist for researching ВКС case law
A systematic approach before you rely on an act.
Choose the portal according to your starting data: vks.bg when the case number is known, legalacts.justice.bg for a thematic search
Distinguish the number of the act from the number of the case and enter them in the right fields
When searching by keyword, include derived forms and synonyms of the legal concepts
Check the status of the act: in force, amended, overturned or upheld
Cross-check against the relevant interpretative decisions on uniform application
Save the ECLI number for future unambiguous reference
The limits of the official portals and what is missing
The official databases fulfil the legal duty of publicity, but they stop there. They provide the raw text of the acts without summaries, without keywords and without semantic links between related decisions. The practitioner gets the document but not the context.
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separate official portals across which the search for ВКС case law is scattered, with no single analytical layer over them
What is missing is the analytical layer: the ability to see trends in case law, to find conflicting decisions on the same question and to follow how a given interpretation develops over time. The official portals by design do not offer this, because their function is publicity, not analysis.
Where an AI legal assistant adds value
A practical guide to finding an act quickly
When you are looking for a specific act under time pressure, a systematic approach saves repeated searches. The following sequence works for both civil and criminal acts.
Finding a ВКС act quickly, step by step
Suitable for everyday practice under time pressure.
Identify the instance and the type of act: decision, ruling, order or sentence*
Choose the portal: vks.bg when the case number is known, legalacts.justice.bg for a thematic search*
Enter the correct identifiers in the right fields. Do not confuse the number of an act with the number of a case*
State the division or chamber when it is known: this narrows the results considerably
Leaving out the division is a common reason for results that are too broad.
Check the status of the act you found before you rely on it*
Record the ECLI number and the full citation for the file*
* Mandatory documents
Three mistakes that ruin a search
For wider context on the role of the interpretative acts of the ВКС, see the related analyses on the Pravko blog on the interpretative decisions of the ВКС in civil cases and the case law in interpretative cases for 2026.
Recommended official sources and portals: search the ВКС database (vks.bg), Unified Portal for Published Court Acts (legalacts.justice.bg), National case law (European e-Justice Portal), full text of the Judiciary System Act, Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (lex.bg).
Pravko provides legal information but does not replace consulting a lawyer. For important legal questions, consult a licensed lawyer.
Have a question about searching Supreme Court of Cassation case law?
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⚠️ Important
Pravko provides legal information, but it does not replace advice from a lawyer. For important legal matters, consult a licensed lawyer.
