The Sofia Administrative Court issued an order stipulating the unconditional cessation of the activities associated with the dismantling of the Soviet Army monument.
Sofia City Administrative Court, at the request of the Vazrajdane Political Party, ordered an unconditional cessation of actions about the dismantling of the Soviet Army Monument in the Prince's Garden in Sofia. The court stated that the actions in question were not being conducted by a presented administrative act or the law.
The court rules that neither contracts nor an administrative act specifying what should be done with the figures following their disassembly, including where they should be taken and stored, whether restoration of the monument is planned, and what portion of the allocated funds will be used for disassembly, storage, and security, and what portion will be allocated for restoration and subsequent installation of the item, which officials should exercise, has been presented.
The evidence put forth does not establish that the actions were taken to preserve and protect private state property, nor does it establish that they were governed by the law or an administrative act. Furthermore, it is not established that an act of administering such matters exists.
The Regional Governor of Sofia may file an appeal of the order within three days of its promulgation.
The directive is immediately enforceable by law enforcement.
As a party with an interest in the case, the court denied the Civic Initiative Association's request to demolish the Soviet Army Monument in order to reestablish it.
In response to an application from the Association "Standing.BG" to the Administrative Court of Sofia, the city issued an order halting the dismantling and cutting of the bronze figures comprising the "Soviet Army Monument" by officials of the District-Sofia Regional Administration.
The court has determined that the practical measures taken to dismantle and remove the bronze figures from the "Soviet Army Monument" were not authorized by law or administrative decree and are therefore unfounded by Article 250, paragraph 1 of the APC.
As an interested party in the case, Kuber Saparev represented the Civic Initiative, which petitioned the court to dismantle the Soviet Army Monument on the grounds of its constitutionality. However, the petition was denied.
"By Chapter XIII of the APC, an appeal of the issuance of the order is permitted within three days," stated the court's stance (BGNES).
