On December 2nd, 2025, the “AI: The Role of Humans in Judicial and Law Enforcement Processes“ expert discussion was organized by AmCham Bulgaria Rule of Law and Legislative Reforms Committee (RLLR). The event was opened by Ivan Mihaylov, AmCham CEO and Omourtag Petkov, AmCham RLLR Chair.
During the first panel, panelists Prof.Yanaki Stoilov, PhD, Judge, Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria, Denitsa Valkova, Judge, Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria and Chief Assistant Professor Margarita Hubenova-Popova, PhD, Faculty of Law, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” discussed the compatibility between automated and AI-driven decisions and the fundamental principles of law and the purposes of legal procedures. They delved into industry specifics and underlined the need for law professionals to understand AI terminology if they want to successfully integrate the technology in their practice.
The discussion also presented the EU AI Act’s strict rules for high-risk AI systems, particularly in the field of justice, aimed at safeguarding human rights, transparency, and effective human oversight. The panel reviewed the evolution of AI technologies and the new challenges they create for legal professionals, emphasizing that, under both the AI Act and existing Bulgarian legislation, AI-assisted expert opinions cannot replace judges or human experts, whose moral judgment and legal responsibility remain irreplaceable.
The panel was moderated by Lyuben Todev, Ph.D., Dobrev and Lyutskanov Law Firm.
Panelists in the second panel – Dimitar Danailov, Member, Commission on Protection of Competition, Nelly Ilieva, Country Manager, DELL Technologies Bulgaria, Lyubka Petrova, Judge, Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria, Olya Dimitrova, President, Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria, Prof. Martin Belov, PhD, Vice Dean, Faculty of Law, Sofia University “St.Kliment Ohridski”’ talked about Application of automated tools in practice: examples and opportunities in the context of Bulgarian law. The panel was moderated by Elena Miller, Partner, Bojinov & Bojinov Ltd. Patent, Trademark & Law Offices.
The discussion brought forward perspectives from both public administration and the business community, highlighting a generally positive outlook on the integration of artificial intelligence in these sectors. For public institutions, a central point was the importance of relying on closed data systems as a means to effectively manage existing risks. From the business standpoint, the advantages of AI adoption are significant, with panelists underscoring the irreplaceable role of human oversight: technologies will ultimately perform according to the intentions and direction set by people. The session concluded with a keynote presentation delivered by Prof. Martin Belov, PhD.
Acknowledgement
The overall concept and messaging of this expert discussion was shaped by a dedicated task force with members Omourtag Petkov, Partner, Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov, Lyuben Todev, Ph.D., Dobrev and Lyutskanov Law Firm, Elena Miller, Partner, Bojinov & Bojinov Ltd., Margarita Guigova, Head of the firm’s IP and TMT departments at Kamburov & Partners Attorneys, Svetlin Adrianov, Attorney-at-law, Partner, EY Law Leader Bulgaria, Albania, N. Macedonia, and Nikola Stoychev, Partner, Dimitrov, Petrov & Co.
With the Support of:
The event was hosted by Bojinov & Bojinov.
Event Sponsors are:
- Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov
- Dobrev & Lyutskanov Law Firm
- Kamburov & Partners Attorneys at Law
Link to Denitsa Valkova, Judge, Supreme Court of Cassation of Bulgaria’s Presentation
Publications of Prof. Martin Belov, PhD
- Martin Belov, Planetary Constitutionalism: Constitutional Utopia for Post-Crisis, Post-Transitional, and Post-Apocalyptic World in Studia Iuridica Lublinensia, September 2025
- Martin Belov, The Constitutional Imaginaries of Crisis and Emergency: between Battle of Narratives and Entanglement in Quantum Constitutionalism in Belov, M. (ed) Constitutional Polycrisis and Emergency Constitutionalism, Palgrave, 2025
- Martin Belov, Anxieties of Distrust and Uncertainty as Factors for Constitutional Polycrisis in post-Modern Algorithmic Society – in Indra Spiecker gen Dohnmann and Christoph Burchard (eds) Algorithmic Transformation and Diffusion of Power: Trust, Conflict, Uncertainty and Control (Baden-Baden, Nomos, 2025), 227-245
- Martin Belov, Constitutional Consciousness: Finding a Black Cat in a Dark Room Through Semiotic Epistemology of Imprints in ‘Shadow Constitutionalisms’, in Jakob v. H. Holtermann, Mario Krešić, Marko Novak (eds) Legal Consciousness, Springer, 2025
- Martin Belov, Post-human Constitutionalism? A Critical Defence of Anthropocentric and Humanist Traditions in Algorithmic Society in Belov, M. (ed.) The IT Revolution and its Impact on State, Constitutionalism and Public Law, Oxford, Hart, 2021
