The European Court of Human Rights held that Bulgaria must pay “on a temporary basis” more than 1.6 million euros to the former King Simeon II of Bulgaria and his sister for preventing them from using forest land for commercial purposes.

Bulgaria “must pay the applicants a total sum of 1,635,875 euros in pecuniary compensation,” according to the decision of the court, which had already sentenced Sofia in the case in September 2021.

The European Court of Human Rights, which was appealed by Simeon Sakskoburggotsky and Marie-Louise Borisova Chrobok, a former princess, unanimously ruled that Bulgaria violated their right to the protection of property and their right to a fair trial. The decision was made in connection with the imposition of a moratorium on the transfer or commercial exploitation of restored assets and mainly related to forest land. The moratorium was introduced in 2009 and remains in effect.