On 29 May 2026, the Commission for Personal Data Protection (CPDP) held the final stage of the First personal data protection student competition. The Chairman of the CPDP, Mr Borislav Bozhinov, opened the event by welcoming the participants and wished them success.
The competition attracted a great deal of interest, with the participation of law students from Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, New Bulgarian University, University of Plovdiv „Paisii Hilendarski“ and South-West University “Neofit Rilski”.
The competition was organised in the form of case studies for complaint handling before CPDP members. The CPDP members, to whom the cases were presented and who subsequently assessed the presentations, was represented by Mr Ivaylo Stanev, Ms Tsvetana Chervenyakova-Ilieva and Mr Tsvetelin Sofroniev, who also chaired each case handling by the CPDP.
The subject of the first case was ‘Consumer Data and Advertising’, in which the team of Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“ was involved in the role as claimants and the role of data controller (defendant) was played by a team of CPDP experts.
In the second case on ‘Video surveillance in the employment relationship’, the team of New Bulgarian University participated as complainants against the team of Sofia University „St. Kliment Ohridski“, acting as data controller (defendant).
In the third case on „Media and Investigative Journalism“, the team of „Neofit Rilski“ South-West University acted as complainants against the team of University of Plovdiv „Paisii Hilendarski“ as controllers.
In the course of the competition, participants in the teams showed that data protection is not merely a legal matter – it is a cause that inspires and engages the younger generation of lawyers. Students defended their positions on the topics by demonstrating in-depth knowledge, punctuality in argumentation, ability to deal with regulations at European and national level, and motivation to propose the best possible solution to each case.
CPDP members awarded first place to the team of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, who worked on the second case study. The team that took second place was from New Bulgarian University and third was the team of University of Plovdiv „Paisii Hilendarski“.
All participants in the competition were awarded certificates, which were distributed by Ms Tsvetana Chervenyakova-Ilieva, member of the Commission for Personal Data Protection.
The event is another proof of the CPDP’s fruitful cooperation with academia and the growing interest of young lawyers in personal data protection.
