Prof. Lazar Gruev defended the scientific degree of “Doctor of Science” in Criminal Law at Varna Free University “Chernorizets Hrabar”. The procedure took place in the virtual environment of the university.
Prof. Lazar Gruev, PhD is a Constitutional Judge from 2003 to 2007 and President of the Supreme Court of Cassation from 2007 to 2014. For five years he has been a lecturer at the Faculty of Law at Varna Free University. In his public defence, he presented the highlights and main points of his work to an audience of more than 40 people - a jury, lecturers from VFU “Chernorizets Hrabar”, many lawyers and guests. The defence of the doctoral dissertation brought together the most prominent Bulgarian scholars in the field of criminal law.
The jury was chaired by Prof. Rumen Markov, D.Sc. and its members were: Prof. Boris Velchev, D.Sc. - President of the Constitutional Court, Prof. Plamen Panayotov, PhD - Head of the Department of Criminal Law at Sofia University, Prof. Georgi Mitov, D.Sc. - Dean of the Faculty of Law at Veliko Tarnovo University, Prof. Margarita Chinova, D.Sc. - Lecturer at Sofia University, Prof. Gergana Marinova, PhD from the Institute of State and Law at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Assoc. Prof. Yuliana Mateeva, PhD - Head of the Department of Legal Sciences at Varna Free University.
"Punishment is a forecast. And its accuracy is of the utmost importance, because a mistake in this process leads to an avalanche of problems, to an endless spiral and in fact stultifies the efforts of many people connected down the chain,” writes Prof. Gruev in his work. He deals with issues related to the division of the penalties of basic and additional; analyses the peculiarities and disadvantages of probation, discharge, etc.; he proposes new measures for impact, control and education. He draws a parallel and substantiates the criteria for distinguishing criminal from administrative penal liability, as well as commenting on problems in sanctioning legal entities.
Prof. Gruev's work is useful for practitioners and lawmakers alike. He laid the foundation for a discussion on the state's modern criminal policy, Constitutional Judge Pavlina Panova, PhD commented in her speech.
"I was asked why I had chosen Varna Free University to defend my doctoral thesis. For me, freedom is the highest value, and it is intertwined in the name of the university, "Prof. Gruev noted in his style. He also quotes the ending of his book - "We can do without many things, but - I am convinced - we cannot do without justice. Justice for everyone and for the whole community. "
Книгата "Наказването за престъпление" може да бъде поръчана в университетската книжарница на ВСУ "Черноризец Храбър".