Opinion on a Draft Ordinance on the Uniform State Requirements for the Acquisition of Higher Education in the Specialty “Law” and the Professional Qualification “Lawyer”

TO

THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

Sofia 1040, "Slavyanska" St. 1

FROM

Association "National Representation of the Bulgarian Startup Entrepreneurial Community" (BESCO)

and

Association "AIBEST" (AIBEST)

POSITION

Regarding: Draft Ordinance on the Unified State Requirements for Acquiring Higher Education in the Specialty "Law" and Professional Qualification "Lawyer" and in particular the introduction of an academic discipline related to the study of the interrelation between law and information technologies in the education of "Law" students in the law faculties of the Republic of Bulgaria

DEAR LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

We present to your attention the joint position of the Bulgarian Startup Association (BESCO) and the Association for Innovation, Business Services and Technologies (AIBEST) in support of the amendments to the Ordinance on the Unified State Requirements for Acquiring Higher Education in the Specialty "Law" and Professional Qualification "Lawyer."

BESCO is an organisation representing over 500 startup, scaleup and larger technology companies that develop and provide innovative products and/or services with high added value. AIBEST unites companies from all areas of the modern business services industry — companies offering services related to BPO, ITO, KPO, LPO, HRO and others.

BESCO and AiBEST stand behind the position that it is absolutely necessary for Bulgaria's law faculties to produce highly qualified professionals who can meet the challenges of the dynamic technology sector. We consider that a discipline covering all dimensions of the interrelation between law and information technologies must be included in the list of compulsory disciplines.

The arguments in support of the above are as follows:

First of all, it should be noted that in recent years Bulgaria has established itself as one of the key centres for innovative development in Europe. Alongside the significant role our country plays as a strategic hub in the production chain of large international technology companies, the number of Bulgarian companies that create and develop technological products and systemic solutions in Bulgaria with a contribution to the Bulgarian and global economy is also growing. Talented teams are creating a new generation of Bulgarian companies and products in various fields such as FinTech (innovations in financial services), BioTech (innovations in biotechnology), RegTech (innovations in regulatory process management), AI (artificial intelligence), machine learning, blockchain and IoT (Internet of Things). The number of companies working in fields such as drone design and robotics, space development and other high added value industries is growing.

Against the backdrop of the rapid development of the technology sector, a number of outdated laws and even gaps in the regulation of social relations significant to the technology sector are clearly emerging (e.g. a suitable form of commercial company to serve the needs of early-stage small companies, insofar as the familiar LLC and JSC do not provide the necessary mechanisms). In this regard, it is absolutely necessary for the country's law faculties to "produce" trained lawyers who can take legislative initiative with the aim of updating and reforming the outdated and cumbersome legislation, so that our laws respond to and even anticipate the needs of the technology business. Such an approach will allow Bulgaria to occupy a significant role as a strategic hub in the production chain of technological products and systemic solutions contributing to the global shared economy.

Furthermore, the introduction of a discipline in law faculties that explains the essence of digital technologies and builds in "Law" students at least basic knowledge of the information society and its characteristics will undoubtedly be of benefit to young people in their realisation on the labour market.

A large proportion of companies in the information technology sector (whether local or foreign) currently prefer to base their legal departments outside Bulgaria. The main reason for this is that a large proportion of practising Bulgarian lawyers (attorneys, in-house counsel, legal advisors, etc.) do not possess sufficient and in-depth knowledge of the nature of business in the various high-technology fields, and are therefore unable to provide quality legal services to such companies.

The introduction of an academic discipline related to the study of the interrelation between law and information technologies will contribute both to raising the quality of legal education and the competitiveness of Bulgarian lawyers relative to their foreign counterparts, and will also open up the possibility for the relocation of entire legal departments to the country.

Finally, we draw attention to the fact that globally, increasing investment is being made in the development of innovative technologies as a response to a number of problems — of a health, economic, logistical and other nature. In this regard, it is necessary for Bulgaria to use every possible means and method in shaping quality specialists, creating a favourable climate for doing business in the country and attracting investment. One of the ways to achieve these fundamental goals of the Bulgarian economy is for the people who will create the regulatory framework, provide competent legal expertise and protection in litigation, to receive a modern and quality legal education that is competitive with education at other European and non-European universities. In this way, we will not only have highly qualified lawyers who can meet the challenges of the technological world, but we will also retain these talents in Bulgaria, where they can work and contribute to economic and demographic development.

In light of all of the above, we once again express our support in favour of the amendment to the Ordinance on the Unified State Requirements for Acquiring Higher Education in the Specialty "Law" and Professional Qualification "Lawyer" and in particular the introduction of an academic discipline related to the study of the interrelation between law and information technologies in the education of "Law" students in the law faculties of the Republic of Bulgaria.