Bulgaria is to pay a total of EUR 51 200 in compensations on 'slow legal process' cases lost at the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).

The trials are part of the total of 700 trials at the Strasbourg-based court opened after complaints of Bulgarian citizens about the excessive length and inefficiency of judicial proceedings.

The latest batch of 17 trials lasted between five years and eight months and eighteen years and the delays were solely the fault of the judiciary.

"The Bulgarian government acknowledges the weaknesses and vows to pay the plaintiffs the sums proposed by the ECtHR to cover the non-monetary damages and the incurred costs and expenses," a statement of the government's press office says.

Friendly settlements are to be signed on the eight complaints filed by Emiliya Kalkovska-Miteva, Valeriy Spasov, Nevena Tasheva, Katerina Ibusheva, Petria Tabakova, Mina Tsoneva, Nikolay Metodiev and Petar Kirov and Gospodinga Kirova.

The plaintiffs will receive a total of EUR 22 800.

The Strasbourg-based court has ordered unilateral declarations on complaints filed by Antoaneta Perpelieva, Mara Terzieva and Tsvetana Avramova, Svetlana Peneva-Gologacheva, Velichka Dimova-Ganeva, Slavi Krashevski, Krastyo Dunchev, Velichka Zhecheva and Yordanka Koleva, Branimir Mitev and Valentina Dimitrova.

Unilateral declarations are adopted by a government when the attempts to reach a friendly settlement have failed because the applicant is dissatisfied with the amount of compensation proposed.

The State Party's acknowledgement of a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights through a unilateral declaration enables the Court to terminate the case.

Bulgaria has already paid over BGN 11 M on cases lost at the ECtHR.

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