Insights

In the situation of a pandemic making remote work the new normal, the qualified electronic signature (QES) has become an essential tool enabling lots of people to do their jobs. Martin Zahariev, PhD offers some useful clarifications to employers in connection with the issuance of QES to their employees. *This publication is in Bulgarian.

In his first piece for the European Audiovisual Observatory Newsletter, where he was invited to be a regular contributor, Nikola Stoychev, assisted by Christian Ivanov, summarizes the decision of the Bulgarian competition authority stating that the the introduction of quotas for Bulgarian music through amendment of the Radio and Television Act would restrict competition on the media market. *This publication is also available in German and French.

The alarming and dynamic increase in the number of COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks has seriously raised the question of what measures could be taken in order to curb the spread of the infectious disease in the workplace. May employees be tested for COVID-19? May this be introduced by the employer as a mandatory requirement? May the staff be notified in case of a sick employee? May employers trace contact persons among staff? Do such measures contravene data protection regulations or other requirements? This analysis tries to give some useful guidelines in connection with the above questions. *This publication is in Bulgarian.

Abstract: This analysis aims to clarify the nature of the principles of personal data processing (the Principles). To achieve this goal, the following tasks have been performed: (1) the emergence and evolution of the Principles in historical context are analyzed; (2) their content and practical significance are clarified; (3) a distinction is made between the Principles and the concept of a legal principle; (4) a comparative analysis is carried out with the laws of other countries, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act. As a result of the research, the thesis is substantiated that the Principles have the nature of legal norms of general significance and have established themselves as a kind of standard for personal data protection. *This publication is in Bulgarian.

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly accelerated digitalisation in all spheres of public life. Many companies have had to move to remote work with almost no preparation, limit their physical meetings with current and potential contractors, and switch fully or partly to electronic document turnover. Some questions were urgently raised of how one can sign remotely, so that the various business processes in the organizations would not be blocked and at the same time a certain level of legal certainty would be achieved, which would guarantee the rights and interests of those signing remotely. Although the legal framework of the electronic document and the electronic signature is not new, but has been operating in Bulgaria and the EU for years, it turned out to be insufficiently familiar and clear for most of the companies. This is the main reason for this analysis, which aims to explore the different possibilities for electronic signing of documents in the ordinary course of business of private entities. *This publication is in Bulgarian.