ПРАВНА УРЕДБА НА СДРУЖЕНИЯТА И ФОНДАЦИИТЕ В БЪЛГАРИЯ (1879–1989)
THE LEGAL REGULATION OF NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATIONS AND OF CHARITABLE TRUSTS IN BULGARIA (1879–1989)

Summary/Abstract: This article is concerned with Bulgarian non-profit associations and charitable trusts’ establishment and status from 1879 when Bulgaria emerged on the map as an autonomous state until 1989 when the way was paved for the application of democratic rule. At first the approach of those associations and trusts was quite liberal and in step with ancestral tradition. This also meant that non-profit associations were free from state intervention; moreover, the legal order made no difference between charitable trusts and funds. The first imposition and adoption of full regulation in agreement with the liberal approach took place in 1933. However, the process of legal establishment and its functioning went together with the interference of some special laws introducing requirements for state permission. The political transformation of 1944 destabilized the existing system seriously; many non-profit associations closed down, so did charitable trusts since they became incompatible with the socialist order. The 1947 Constitution and the Law on persons and family (1949) opened the door to ideology to interfere in legal regulation. The 1971 Constitution in its turn changed the entire philosophy behind the legal foundation for non-profit associations. Instead, the new document required close coordination between their functioning and state policy. By 1989 the imposed model had proven its inadequacy alongside the pressing need for a complete change in legislation.

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