A working group tasked with drafting anti-SLAPP legislative amendments was first established in October 2023 by then-Minister of Justice Atanas Slavov, during the PP-DB government. The group included experts from various legal backgrounds—judges, lawyers, academics, and NGO representatives—and worked through April 2024. By that time, it had prepared a set of draft amendments to the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), aimed at ensuring specific protections against SLAPPs in Bulgaria.
Following the change of government in April 2024, efforts to adopt anti-SLAPP legislation temporarily stalled.
In July 2024, Minister Slavov’s successor, Mariya Pavlova, established a new working group with the same mandate, incorporating many members of the original team. This group reviewed the previous work and decided to continue based on the existing draft amendments to the CPC.
After the autumn of 2024, amid yet another general election and subsequent change of government, the activities of the working group have once again come to a halt.
Source: 2025 Rule of Law Report Bulgaria, page 20
CASE is a coalition of European NGOs that recognize the threat posed to public watchdogs by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) was founded in 2015 in Leipzig, Germany, and operates under European press freedom charters.
CASE is a coalition of European NGOs that recognize the threat posed to public watchdogs by Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs).
The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF) was founded in 2015 in Leipzig, Germany, and operates under European press freedom charters.
Mapping Media Freedom documents press and media freedom violations across Europe. The documented incidents are publicly accessible and can be explored, filtered, and searched through the interactive Alert Explorer.