Social protection systems are in a constant state of alteration and Bulgaria is no exception to this observation. Rapid ageing, demographic change and an overall fragile economic situation: these are just some of the challenges for the social protection system in the country. As answers to the pressuring dynamics, numerous reforms are undertaken that at times go as far as to introduce structural changes in key social protection branches such as old age pension regulation. Economic concerns are often debated in the course of such reforms due to the difficulties in the system’s financing while the related legal questions remain either neglected or underdiscussed. However, since laws ultimately design the whole social protection system, legal concerns urgently need to be addressed in the course of reform measures.
For this to be done, this PhD research thesis engages in the two-fold goal of providing a functional systematisation of social protection in Bulgaria and assessing the constitutional, international and European law influences on the system. On the one hand, a fundamental understanding of the legal framework encompassing social protection is required. Arranging social protection in Bulgaria according to the functions of its different measures will allow not only for a thorough study of the system, but will enable its systematisation on the basis of the institutional hallmarks of the various measures.
On the other hand, apart from understanding the current state of the system, the legal influences on social protection will be unveiled. In particular, due to their nature of higher-ranking norms, constitutional and international law influences can unfold their significance by seeking to curb state intervention and by granting social rights or expanding the scope of already existing social benefits. Moreover, despite that European law coordinates and does not harmonise social protection, the different domestic systems nevertheless need to operate within the European legal framework, which undeniably triggers some influence and adaptation from the national sides. The question of the significance of constitutional, international and European law for social protection represents a key issue, especially given the tendency for numerous reforms in the field in Bulgaria. The challenges facing social protection can only be addressed through a comprehensive approach which also takes account of the legal framework and the influence of constitutional and international law.
The research consists of two main parts which bear their own methodological approaches related to the respective aims. As stated above, one side of the research aims at the comprehensive examination of the system by carving out the functionalities behind its different social protection branches. The methodology followed in this part uses, as a starting point, the problem demanding a legal solution, rather than the legal solution given by social protection law itself This exogenous approach aids the understanding of the rationale behind the different building blocks of the social protection system.
The second main part of the research proceeds with the legal influences on the social protection branches identified on the basis of the functional systematisation carried out in the first part of the research. In this regard, higher-ranking norms, which potentially have the ability to influence the design of ordinary law, need to be considered. So far, no attention has been paid to the question of how constitutional, international and European law influence Bulgarian social protection. Nevertheless, constitutions are important for the enactment and design of law in general, and potentially also for social protection measures, as their function and content set the limits of the actions of authorities and strive to guarantee the rights of citizens. Constitutional and international law cannot stop the legislature from initiating diverse reforms, but rather call for their enactment through a proportionality test and the minding of certain restrictions. In addition, the part examines how European law has influenced national social protection by paying special attention to the specifics of this legal order concerning its place in the national hierarchy of norms as well as to EU competences in the field. This part’s methodology is based on the phases when constitutional, international and European law influence can be applied by the respective institutional actors. Namely, the research focuses on the phases of norm creation and norm control, when the legislature and the Constitutional Court respectively have bestowed influence upon the social protection system.
Generally speaking, the research about the influence of constitutional and international law on social protection could prove to be of value not only in relation to the concrete national context of Bulgaria, but could also contribute to larger-scale debates on the restructuring of the scope and expenditure of social protection measures. Many countries undertake social protection reforms in an effort to ease the pressure on public budgets and to attract investment activities. The more social protection becomes an argument in austerity practices and international competition, the more important it will be to uncover the role that the legal framework in general and constitutional and international law in particular play in the development of social protection. Finally, the examination on the influence capacity of European law can contribute to more nuanced discussions on the latter’s role vis-à-vis the national social protection systems.