Rule of Law: Supranationalization from the Perspective of Bulgaria - Acta Universitatis Sapientiae

Acta Univ. Sapientiae, Legal Studies, 14, 2 (2025) 151–185

DOI: 10.47745/AUSLEG.2025.14.2.06

Abstract. The following study analyses the supranationalization of the rule of law from the perspective of Bulgaria’s EU membership, focusing on how external monitoring and EU governance tools have reshaped domestic understandings of constitutionalism, legality, and institutional accountability. It situates Bulgaria’s post-communist constitutional settlement within broader debates on constitutional pluralism and the ‘external dimension’ of constitutionalization, arguing that Bulgarian doctrine has long remained attached to a predominantly Westphalian conception of sovereignty, with only limited engagement with supranational constitutionalism and the conceptual vocabulary of supranationalization. The article traces the domestic trajectory of the rule of law principle under Article 4 of the 1991 Constitution and examines the constitutional significance of the 2005 EU integration clause, highlighting the largely under-theorized structural consequences of primacy and shared governance for Bulgarian constitutional order. It then evaluates the impact of the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (2007–2019; repealed 2023) on judicial reform, anti-corruption policy, and institutional practice, before assessing Bulgaria’s performance under the EU Annual Rule of Law Cycle (2020–2024) and the EU Justice Scoreboard. The author argues that EU monitoring has had important agenda-setting effects but has also displayed technocratic limitations, including reliance on formal indicators that may misrepresent national realities. It concludes by identifying post-CVM risks and outlining the conditions for meaningful rule of law consolidation in Bulgaria.

Keywords: rule of law, supranationalization, Bulgaria, Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), EU Rule of Law Cycle