A number of foreign legal firms operating in Bulgaria have approached the European Commission (EC), accusing the Bulgarian state of obstructing their practises in the country.

DLA Piper, CMS Cameron McKenna, CMS Reich-Rohrwig Hainz, Wolf Theiss and CHSH Cerha Hempel Spiegelfeld Hlawati have filed a formal complaint to the EC "against the non-compliance of the Bulgarian Attorneys Act with European Union law".

According to the foreign lawyers, the Bulgarian Attorneys Act is contradicting European law and Bulgaria has to revise it. They accuse several Bulgarian institutions, including the Supreme Bar Council, Sofia Bar Council and Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC), of having declared with their decisions on the matter that they do not admit the supremacy of European law "in cases when there are obvious gaps" in Bulgarian legislation.

Back in July, Bulgaria's CPC imposed a 150 000 leva fine on four of the five foreign law firms, Wolf Theiss being the exception, because of unfair commercial practices. The case at the competition watchdog was launched by Bulgarian law companies, whose main accusations were focused on the fact that the defendant foreign law firms are registered and operate in the country as commercial enterprises, while according to the Attorneys Act they need to be registered explicitly as law firms.

Furthermore, to comply with the law, the names of the law firms can be composed only of the names of the partners registered in one of Bulgaria's bar associations. This is something the foreign lawyers in the country are fiercely opposing, as to them being able to operate under the name that they are internationally recognised is vital for the success of their business.

Following the CPC decision, the foreign lawyers remained determined not to rest their case and this led to their complaint before the EC. They say that as a result of the current situation with Bulgarian legislation they are de facto excluded from practising law services in Bulgaria, as they cannot affiliate with Bulgarian attorneys and cannot practise under their home member states professional titles.

In compliance with its rules of practice, the EC will now request a response from Bulgaria, look at the complaint and should it find it unlawful, start an infringement procedure against the country. If the problem still persists after this, the EC can file a lawsuit at EU's European Court of Justice in Luxembourg.