Bulgaria will have to pay 233 000 euro after losing two trials in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

On December 4 2007, the Cabinet approved the payment of the sum from the state budget, mediapool.bg reported.

Both cases refered to illegal deprivation of property of the plaintiffs.

In the first case, 15 citizen of the town of Surnitsa sued the country for re-opening a case from 1996 over restoration of possession of real estate. By re-opening the case, the court in Bulgaria broke the legal security principle and illegally deprived the owners of their property, ECHR said.

Bulgaria was sentenced to restore the properties to plaintiffs or to pay 79 200 euro for financial damages. The country would also have to pay 1500 euro to 14 of the plaintiffs and 2000 to the main claimant to compensate immaterial damages.

In the second case, the state would have to pay 130 730 euro to six Bulgarian citizens, who did not receive the apartments they were entitled to after expropriation of their properties between 1983 and 1990.

The two trials were the latest in a series of trails against Bulgaria in which the ECHR judged that the judicial system in the country violated human rights, mediapool.bg said. Bulgaria was among the most accused EU members at the ECHR.

With the latest two cases, the total sum the country paid after losing trials at ECHR exceeded 500 000 euro, all due to unfinished or poor work by the judiciary system, mediapool.bg said.