Essence and Specifics of the Magistrate’s Court and Conciliation Proceedings

Introduction. The article is an attempt at a theoretical understanding of the following con- cepts: conciliation procedures, magistrate’s courts and magistrate’s justice. The research aims to analyse the genesis and nature of the models of magistrate’s justice that have de- veloped in the practice of national legal systems, and in particular in the judicial practice of the Republic of Bulgaria. Theoretical Basis. Methods. The article provides a brief historical and comparative legal analysis of well-known models of magistrate’s justice. These include foreign legislations, and countries belonging to the continental legal family and the countries of the Anglo-Saxon legal family. This made it possible to assess the diversity of the essential elements of the institute of magistrate’s justice, and highlight their main models. Results. Based on the study of the place and role of justices of the peace in the judicial sys- tem, the author concluded that there is an emergence of justice according to the principles established during the thousand-year history of the development of justice in Europe. The classification of the types of magistrate’s justice has been carried out. Alternative methods of dispute resolution, conciliation and litigation in the resolution of disputes are also con- sidered. Discussion and Conclusion. Scientific conclusions are formulated concerning the legal na- ture of the analyzed institution, and its place in the justice system.