The Foundation for Access to Rights informs about the annulment in court proceedings of several provisions concerning the humanitarian program for Ukrainians

Foundation for Access to Rights – PHAR Bulgaria published an article concerning a ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court in which the latter annulled some provisions of the ‘Program for Humanitarian Support and Integration of Displaced Persons from Ukraine with Temporary Protection’ adopted by the Council of Ministers’ in May 2025. Specifically, it found that the definition of children under the ‘risk group’ was contrary to national and EU law in so far as it included under vulnerable applicants only children aged 0 -12 years old, accompanied by one parent or another adult. 

The court found also that the contested provisions conditioned the access to accommodation for children accompanied only by one parent were contrary to the right to family and private life as enshrined in Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Bulgarian Constitution. The court highlighted the fundamental principle of family integrity and held that the full and harmonious development of children happens primarily by recognising the child-parent relationship, failure to which can lead to irreversible consequences for the well-being of both parents and children. 

The judgment is not final and can be further appealed before an expanded panel of the Supreme Administrative Court. 

The English summary of the case is available in the EUAA Case Law Database:

• Bulgaria, Supreme Administrative Court [Върховен административен съд], Applicants v State Agency for Refugees (Държавна агенция за бежанците при Министерския съвет‚ SAR), No. 11199/2025, 19 February 2026. Link redirects to the English summary in the EUAA Case Law Database. 

For details on the asylum appeals system in Bulgaria, please consult the relevant page on the EUAA Case Law Database.