Article 44, paragraph 9, clause 3 of the Law on Foreigners explicitly states that compulsory placement shall not be applied to unaccompanied minors and juveniles. The authority issuing the order must instead refer the person to an employee of the competent Social Assistance Directorate, which is responsible for initiating protection measures in accordance with the Child Protection Act. In this case, an unaccompanied minor was placed in a detention center in breach of this provision. The person designated as the complainant’s accompanying person is not within the category of persons who may be held responsible for the minor foreigner under Bulgarian law or custom, and in accordance with Regulation (EU) No. 516/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014. Furthermore, the competent Social Assistance Directorate was informed of the detention only after the minor’s placement and immediately before his release. These violations rendered the detention order unlawful and the court therefore annulled it.
Source here.
