Publications: Assoc. Prof. Martin Zahariev, PhD

According to Regulation 2016/679 (GDPR), consent is one of the possible legal grounds for personal data processing. Consent is placed first among the conditions for the processing of personal data. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nature of consent as a ground for the processing of personal data. The study traces back the emergence of consent as a basis for processing from historical perspective – its inclusion in national data protection acts and acts of EU law. Examined are the questions: What specifics does consent reveal and what requirements should be fulfilled in order for consent to be valid under GDPR? Does consent enjoy any hierarchical supremacy over other legal grounds for personal data processing? Are there cases where consent is not an appropriate legal basis and why? What opportunities does the consent provide for overcoming some of the GDPR explicit prohibitions – e.g. ones regarding automated individual decision-making or transferring personal data to third countries outside the European Union? What are the consent’s possibilities according to the Bulgarian national rules under the Personal Data Protection Act? This paper addresses the questions raised in the light of European and national practice of applying personal data protection rules, including by analyzing the practice of the national data protection supervisory authority – the Commission for Personal Data Protection.

*This publication is in Bulgarian.

In issue 96 of 10 November 2020 of the State Gazette (SG) the Act for Amendment and Supplement to the Electronic Commerce Act (AASECA) was promulgated. As indicated in the motives to the AASECA bill, the amendments aim to ensure "adequate and effective implementation" of Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 on promoting fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services. To that end, the rules and measures applicable to infringements of the Regulation shall be established at national level. This analysis explains what the amendments to the Electronic Commerce Act are and why they needed to be made.

*The publication is in Bulgarian.

For a second year in a row DPC arbitration experts have been invited as contributors to the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration. Pencho Stanchev and Martin Zahariev, PhD worked on the Bulgarian part to the chapter Jurisdictional Issues and Arbitration - An International Comparison of the Austrian Yearbook on International Arbitration 2021 with authors Gerold Zeiler and Andrijana Misovic.

On 25 May 2018, Regulation 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR/ the Regulation) became applicable. It introduced a unified regime for the protection of personal data within the European Union, further developing the existing national rules in this matter, adopted by the Member States when transposing the requirements of Directive 95/46 that precedes GDPR. Among the ambitious goals of the European legislator with the adoption of GDPR is to ensure the control of natural persons over their own personal data and to enhance legal and practical certainty for natural persons, economic operators and public authorities. One of the means to achieve this is to expand the scope of some existing rights of data subjects in the processing of their personal data, the establishment of new, hitherto unknown rights, as well as the regulation of reciprocal obligations of the subjects processing personal data – data controllers and processors. In addition, GDPR introduces specific rules on the remedies of the data subjects in case the requirements of the Regulation on the processing of their personal data are infringed. The purpose of this study is to analyze the rules for determining international jurisdiction in proceedings related to infringements of the rules of GDPR. The types of legal remedies that GDPR provides to data subjects are considered - the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, the right to effective judicial remedy against a supervisory authority and the right to effective judicial remedy against a controller or processor and the rules for determining international jurisdiction over the said proceedings.

*The publication is in Bulgarian.

Over the last decade there has been a constant trend towards digitalization of many traditional processes in business organizations. This trend has accelerated dramatically in recent months due to the anti-epidemic measures introduced against the COVID-19 pandemic, which have led to the mass introduction of remote work (where possible), remote business meetings, negotiations and signing of contract, etc. Perhaps the most important of these processes is the document flow of the organization, i.e. the creation, signing, exchange and storage of documents both inside the organization (e.g. documents created in connection with the work process) and outside it (e.g. documents connected to relations with suppliers, contractors, business partners and potential ones). However, with the introduction of concepts such as contract, concluded remotely, electronic statement (e-statement), electronic document (e-document) and electronic signature (e-signature), many questions arise, as well as fears that the new digital being of documents is not able to guarantee the interests of legal entities in the same way as the good old paper document. This analysis aims to examine the issues of the legal value and importance of e-documents in the context of commercial and civil law.

*The publication is in Bulgarian.

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.

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.

Almost 2.5 years since GDPR became effective, many things have changed. Most importantly, the privacy-awareness has drastically increased among both companies and citizens. Find out what happened during this period in Bulgaria (key legislative changes and most noteworthy cases) in the latest report by our experts Martin Zahariev and Radoslava Makshutova.

*This publication is in Bulgarian

In the emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, employers face many challenges - from seeking to maintain employment and minimize losses to compliance with established anti-epidemic measures and protection of the lives and health of their employees. Martin Zahariev, PhD, examines several processing operations related to counteracting the spread of COVID-19 at the workplace and their admissibility from GDPR and Bulgarian law perspective.

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BG/EN

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* The publication is part of the collection "Za Bukvite", "European citizens and intellectual property: perception, awareness and behaviour  "

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The text is in Bulgarian.