The "Krichim palace" ownership case involves Bulgaria's former Tsar, and former Prime Minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg, and his sister Maria Luisa, who seek to regain ownership on the former royal residence. Photo by BGNES
The Bulgarian State lawyers presented Tuesday to the Plovdiv magistrates new proof that the disputed Krichim palace is State property
The case stems form the civil suit filed by former Tsar and Prime Minister, Simeon Saxe-Coburg, and his sister, who seek to regain ownership on the Krichim former royal residence.
The State representatives presented 41 documents from the official January 1944 archives. According to the attorneys, they prove that before the arrival of the Communist regime in 1944, the employees of the Royal Court received their salaries from the State, not from the Royal Family, which they say is evidence the property itself had belonged to the State.
The Court accepted the documents, but the case was postponed again over request from the Saxe-Coburg lawyers to see written answers of why the new proof was presents at such late stage of the trial.
The experts hired by the Court were unable to present Tuesday information about the total area of forests on the Krichim lands because, per their own testimony, they have not been allowed to enter the property. The magistrates ruled to issue Court warrants and set March 9 as the date when the experts must survey the land.
The case wast postponed for March 23. Saxe-Coburg's lawyers say they expect the trail to end on that day.
The civil case is the first legal trial for the restitution of royal property, which was launched after regional governor Todor Petkov refused to restore the Krichim residence to Simeon-Saxe Coburg and Maria Luisa. The governor claimed that the papers they provided to prove rightful ownership of the land do not coincide with the data in the municipal archives.