Historical roots of the contemporary misunderstanding of the "rule of law" concept on the balkans – the case of Bulgaria and others

• Pages: 279-293
• Author: Hristo Berov

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HISTORICAL ROOTS OF THE CONTEMPORARY

MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE “RULE OF LAW” CONCEPT ON

THE BALKANS – THE CASE OF BULGARIA AND OTHERS.

HRISTO BEROV

Associate Professor of History. .



SUMMARY: 1. INTRODUCTION. 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: CLAS-

SICAL AND CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES OF THE RULE OF LAW. 2.1.

Conventional Ideas. 2.2. Modern Understanding. 3. HISTORICAL DE-

VELOPMENT AND DIFFICULTIES IN THE BULGARIAN SITUATION. 3.1.

Ottoman Legacy (1396–1878). 3.2. Legal modernization and nation-sta-

te formation (1878–1944). 3.3. Communist Era (1944–1989). 3.4. Post-

Communist Transition and European Union Accession (1989–Present).

4. CONTEMPORARY MISUNDERSTANDINGS OF RULE OF LAW IN BUL-

GARIAN SOCIETY. 4.1. Legitimacy against the Rule of Law. 4.2. Trust De-

ficit and Discriminatory Application. 4.3. Legislative Instrumentalism.

4.4. Procedural Formalism. 4.5. Between Populism and Technocracy.

4.6. Individualized Justice and Cultural Particularism. 4.7. Passive Lega-

lity and Active Circumvention. 4.8. The state of Chaos and Institutional.

Uncertainty. 5. CONCLUSION. 6. REFERENCES.

1. INTRODUCTION.

Although a basic tenet of modern democratic government, the Rule of Law

is interpreted and applied quite differently depending on the sociopolitical

setting. As defined by many national constitutions and international conventions