The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria will open the series of events marking the 35th anniversary of its establishment with a solemn celebration of Bulgarian Constitution Day. On April 16, 2026, the members of the Court will welcome official guests in Veliko Tarnovo, including former constitutional judges, representatives of the Presidency, the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, as well as representatives of the Bar Associations, and the academic community.
The President of the Constitutional Court, Pavlina Panova, will open the solemn celebration marking the 35th anniversary of the Court and Bulgarian Constitution Day with a welcome address at the “Renaissance and Constituent Assembly” Museum, where the Tarnovo Constitution was adopted on April 16, 1879.
The ceremony will continue with welcoming remarks by the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Iliana Yotova; the Chair of the National Assembly, Raya Nazarian; and the Prime minister of the Republic of Bulgaria, Andrey Gurov.
Greetings will also be delivered by the Mayor of Veliko Tarnovo Municipality, Dr. Eng. Daniel Panov; the President of the Supreme Court of Cassation, Galina Zaharova; Judge Mario Dimitrov, Chair of the Third Division of the Supreme Administrative Court, on behalf of the Supreme Administrative Court; the Chair of the Supreme Bar Council, Attorney Stefan Marchev; as well as the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, Velislava Delcheva, and the President of the Union of Bulgarian jurists, Vladislav Slavov.
The first of three events in 2026 with which the Constitutional Court will mark the 35th anniversary of its establishment is dedicated to the history of the Constitution. During the forum, Prof. Milko Palangurski, from the Institute of Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, will present a speech on “Constitutionalism and the Constitutional Court”.
Former Minister of Justice, member of the 7th Grand National Assembly, and judge of the First Panel of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria, Prof. Pencho Penev, will deliver a presentation on “Memories of the Beginning”.
A presentation on “The Constitution Between the Ideal and the Real” will be delivered by Constitutional Court Justice Yanaki Stoilov, who served as secretary of the Constitutional Commission in the 7th Grand National Assembly.
Media representatives will have the opportunity to cover the forum in Veliko Tarnovo upon confirmed accreditation. Registration requests must be submitted by April 14 (inclusive) to [email protected].
