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Professor Vasil Mrachkov, S.J.D, Awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by Sofia University

 

A solemn ceremony to confer an honorary academic title to Professor Vassil Mrachkov, S.J.D was held at the Aula Magna of Sofia University "St.Kliment Ohridski". The proposition for the conferment of the honorary degree on behalf of the oldest and most prestigious academic institution in Bulgaria has been put forward by the Sofia University Faculty of Law as an acknowledgement of Professor Mrachkov's outstanding contributions to the fields of law science, higher juridical education and jurisdiction, as well as his seminal and strong academic and pedagogical cooperation with the University. The degree has also been awarded as a tribute to Professor Mrachkov's 80th birthday.

In his opening speech, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, Professor Sasho Penov, S.J.D, laid emphasis on the fact that there has been no other Bulgarian scholar or legal professional who, despite being formally outside the walls of the University, has contributed to such an extent to the scientific growth and development of the Faculty through continuous participation in the process of education and training of future jurists and law practitioners. His outstanding scientific activities and work have been groundbreaking in the area of labor, insurance and international law, as well as in many other juridical domains of research.

Professor Mrachkov has delivered lectures in such obligatory academic subjects as labor and insurance law. He has been a pioneer in establishing the course on international labor law and become its first reader. He is also the author of 5 textbooks, 10 monographs, 10 essays and manuals, 34 working papers, 207 articles, 19 reviews and notices, and a great number of other publications in Bulgarian, English, Spanish, Polish, Russian, and French.

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Professor Mrachkov is the author of the first textbook on labor law, published after 1957. Other remarkable publications include the first Bulgarian textbook on insurance law and the first and only textbook on international labor law. He has worked with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the Governing Body of the International Labor Organization, and the International Association for Labor Legislation.

In his laudation Dr Penov also pointed out that there were some outstanding personal qualities which characterized the uniqueness of Professor Mrachkov both as a scientist and an educator - he is not the typical academic recluse, intellectually centered, and deeply absorbed in his thoughts. On the contrary, Vasil Mrachkov is a friendly, outspoken person, always eager to impart his expertise to colleagues and students, never failing to encourage, criticize, search for the truth, and at the same time acknowledge the viewpoints different from his own and stimulate their expression. An accomplished fellow of such caliber is a great credit to every academic institution, Dr Penov added. The latter also mentioned that the strong professional relationship of Professor Mrachkov with the University and his exceptional scientific contributions have made his admission to the honorary degree the next logical step crowning his academic career.

"Professor Mrachkov's vast academic output within the field of labor law and in other areas of law, widely appreciated by both the national and international scientific communities, is a matter of great pride and honor to every professional law society worldwide", Dr Penov stated in conclusion.

The honorary diploma was handed over to the awardee by Dr Ivan Ilchev, Rector of Sofia University.

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In his acceptance speech, Professor Mrachkov expressed his gratitude and emphasized that for him to receive such an award was a sign of the greatest academic acknowledgement.

"I accept the honorary title with a feeling of deep respect towards the name and the great legacy of the patron saint of Sofia University, St Kliment Ochridski. I accept the degree conferred to me by the University of Sofia with deep appreciation and humility, due to the fact that the award is bestowed upon me not only by the oldest academic institution of higher learning in Bulgaria, but also by a university which, since its establishment 127 years ago, stands out as a remarkable contributor to the spiritual growth of my country."

Professor Mrachkov delivered his academic speech on the topic of Bulgaria as a Social Welfare State.

Professor Mrachkov spoke about a social welfare state, characterized by a highly developed and prospering economy, able to provide its citizens with material and spiritual welfare, continuously raising their standard of living, so that people naturally choose their native country as a favorite place to live and work in. The lector also noted that the constitution of Bulgaria was modeled on the constitutions of some European countries, leading in the establishment of social welfare, such as Germany, France, Belgium, and the Scandinavian countries.

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Professor Mrachkov observed that together with the Constitution, the jurisprudence of the Constitutional court forms a single constitutional entity set up in order to facilitate the development of the Bulgarian social welfare state and referred to some of the most important rulings of the Constitutional court safeguarding the existence of such a state.

In his speech Professor Mrachkov drew special attention to the stumbling blocks hindering the nation on its way to a true social welfare state and undermining the nation’s potential to make its free choice towards achieving its democratic goals.

"The mere facts do not allow us to make such a choice. What also holds us back are the many unemployed people in this country, the hundreds of thousands of people without means of providing for themselves or their families. During the first half of 2009, 5,8% of the active population of Bulgaria were unemployed and since then this number rose dramatically to 11 % at the end of 2014. In my opinion, we are facing yet another problem, that of poverty, which is the gravest one, preventing us from achieving a social welfare state. According to official reports, 40 to 50% of the total population of Bulgarian citizens are at risk of poverty. Poverty levels in Bulgaria have reached alarming dimensions. They are 5, 8, to 10 times higher than the European average".

Professor Mrachkov voiced his concern that poverty is the bleeding wound of our society, which keeps us back from the state of social welfare. Society is painfully divided into a small group of extremely rich people and a large group of extremely poor people. Further Professor Mrachkov stated that, unfortunately, Bulgaria had become a state of the working poor who, even though formally having a job, are still unable to provide for their families with the income they receive.

"Education which has been ensuring quality and for many years maintaining high standards in our country - I am talking about primary, secondary and university education-is facing serious financial problems as well as problems related to the opportunities the individual has to access this basic human right", added Professor Mrachkov.

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In his speech Professor Mruckov also touched on the shortcomings experienced constantly by the social security system, including problems related to healthcare insurance and social security benefits: "Our social welfare state is a state of redistribution of funds, a state whose function is to redistribute the GDP through the state budget. The state merely redistributes what is being produced. As our state produces a minimal amount of goods, what is left is a minimal amount of goods for redistribution".

Professor Mrachkov presented his view of a contemporary, progressive social welfare state, which boasts of a highly developed and prospering economy, encourages the industrial growth, uses the social welfare funds to invest in the protection of basic human rights such as education, healthcare, culture, which, in its turn, results in the presence of people who enjoy a longer, more active, and fulfilling life in their own country.

In conclusion, Professor Mrachkov went retrospectively to some of his fondest memories of his university life. He spoke about that distant day in September, 1952, when he, as a newly admitted law student, entered the lecture halls of the Faculty of Law for the first time. He paid his tribute to his professors, whom his generation had had the great privilege to learn from - academics, prominent jurists, distinguished public figures and statesmen such as Professor Petko Stainov, Professor Lyuben Vasilev, and Professor Stefan Pavlov, all three of them Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and Professor Boris Spasov, a Correspondent Member of the same Academy. He also mentioned his illustrious professors Nisim Mevorah, Dimitur Silyanovsky, Angel Angelov, Zhivko Stalev, Ivan Nenov, Mihail Andree, and Vladimir Koutikov, these are all names that have left behind substantial scientific heritage. Amongst the first assistant-professors were Vitaly Tadger, one of first doctors of law in this country, Lilyana Nenova and Professor Alexander Yankov, a Correspondent Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

“My university professors were all people of European spirit and culture. The university auditorium was their sacred temple, the university chair was the pulpit they taught from. They themselves not merely taught; they preached law, they were its confessors and inculcated in us awe and veneration of it. To them, my university professors, I bow and pay my deepest respect,’’ Professor Mrachkov said in conclusion.

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