The Constitutional Court acknowledged BCCI’s right to represent the interests of its 52 000 members in the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation

 

The Management of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed its satisfaction with the Decision of the Constitutional Court on Case 2 of 2012 announced on the Court’s website.

The members of the oldest (117 years) voluntary Bulgarian business organization are satisfied with the fact that the Judges have declared unconstitutional the requirement that employers’ organizations to which functions have been assigned by law cannot take part in the social dialogue. 

The requirement was directly aimed at BCCI, but later on turned out to affect other employers’ organizations as well. 

The Constitutional Court confirmed BCCI’s position that the freely associated employers in protection of their business interests shall specify in accordance with their Statutes who shall represent them in the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC). Therefore, by virtue of no negotiations, dialogue, debates, cooperation, etc. may one party decide who shall represent another party or other parties. Such legislative dictation contradicts Art. 4, para 1, Art. 44 and Art. 49, para 2 of the Constitution and is inadmissible. This was reminded by the votes of all Constitutional Judges, who have once again proven the meaning of the international acts for the Republic of Bulgaria with which we must comply as a state committed to the rule of law. 

The Court ruled that “the text of Art. 35, para 1, item 5 of the Labour Code may result in the elimination from participation in the tripartite dialogue on national level of certain employers’ organizations to which the State has unilaterally assigned public functions. The contested text therefore contradicts not only Art. 44, para 1 and Art. 49, para 2, but also Art. 4, para 1 of the Constitution because such legislative changes violate legal certainty and predictability as the main characteristics of states governed by the rule of law. This is true even to a greater extent for employers’ organizations to which the State had previously assigned public functions with the consent of the legal entity, and which are now deprived of their national representation by virtue of the contested amendment to the Labour Code. The principle of the rule of law is flagrantly violated, if an organization which has voluntarily agreed to execute the public functions assigned to it, is deprived of its national representation by virtue of subsequent amendments to the law, i.e. is retroactively deprived of the rights it has acquired.”

BCCI would like to thank everyone who supported its cause, including the Members of Parliament, the administration of the President, NGOs, sectorial organizations and companies. The Chamber will continue to execute its obligations as a responsible participant in the Tripartite Dialogue on behalf of its over 52 000 members from the light sector of economy. With only half of its members – 21 000 companies, according to data of the National Social Security Institute, recently more than 650 jobs were proven in those difficult times. 

22.06.2012