Over 630 000 trials entered the Bulgarian courts in 2010, which is a total record, according to Lzar Gruev, chair of the country's Supreme Court of Cassations.

Given that there are 280 eight-hour work days a year, this makes 315 trials each hour. While Bulgarians are suing each other more frequently, there has also been a tendency for more and more trials initiated by monopolies against citizens, Gruev clarified, according to the Dnevnik daily.

There are 2200 judges in Bulgaria, which means they dealt with an average of 286 trials per person. A total of 580 000 of last year's trials, or 92% have already finished.

Lazar Gruev announced these numbers during a discussion in Sofia dedicated to the decisions taken by the European Human Rights court in Strasbourg, which have declared the problem with Bulgaria's slow judicial system as chronic.

Bulgaria has 15 months to speed up its penal trials and implement a mechanism for the compensation of citizens who have suffered because of the slow judiciary.