Enforcement of national penalties - conditions of imprisonment

Republic of Bulgaria

Bulgaria - Criminal Code 1968 (2017) EN

Chapter 4 Punishment

Section 1 General Provisions

Article 41

(1) The serving of punishment by imprisonment shall be accompanied by appropriate, duly paid socially useful labour, for the purpose of re-education of the convicts and formation and upgrading of their vocational qualifications.

(2) Further to the above also other measures for education and training shall be applied.

(3) The labour performed shall be recognised as a way of diminishing the term of the punishment, two work days being recognised for three days of imprisonment.

(4) (Supplemented, SG No. 28/1982, amended, SG No. 89/1986) Where the sentenced person in serving the punishment by imprisonment systematically avoids doing socially useful work, commits deliberate crime, or grave offences of the established order and thereby shows that he does not correct himself, the court may revoke entirely or in part the recognition of his work days for the last two years prior to the perpetration of the last offence.

(5) (Repealed, renumbered from Paragraph 6, SG No. 89/1986) The procedure and manner of serving the punishment by imprisonment and the special care under paragraph (3) of Article 40, the payment of the labour of convicts, as well as their appointment to jobs after their release, shall be regulated by law.

(6) (Amended, SG No. 89/1974, renumbered from Paragraph 7, SG No. 89/1986, amended, SG No. 27/2009, effective 1.06.2009, SG No. 13/2017, effective 7.02.2017) The initial regime of serving punishment by imprisonment shall be determined by the court in compliance with the provisions of this code and the special law.

Rome Statute

Article 103 Role of States in enforcement of sentences of imprisonment

1.

(a) A sentence of imprisonment shall be served in a State designated by the Court from a list of States which have indicated to the Court their willingness to accept sentenced persons.

(b) At the time of declaring its willingness to accept sentenced persons, a State may attach conditions to its acceptance as agreed by the Court and in accordance with this Part.

(c) A State designated in a particular case shall promptly inform the Court whether it accepts the Court's designation.

2.

(a) The State of enforcement shall notify the Court of any circumstances, including the exercise of any conditions agreed under paragraph 1, which could materially affect the terms or extent of the imprisonment. The Court shall be given at least 45 days' notice of any such known or foreseeable circumstances. During this period, the State of enforcement shall take no action that might prejudice its obligations under article 110.

(b) Where the Court cannot agree to the circumstances referred to in subparagraph (a), it shall notify the State of enforcement and proceed in accordance with article 104, paragraph 1.

3. In exercising its discretion to make a designation under paragraph 1, the Court shall take into account the following:

(a) The principle that States Parties should share the responsibility for enforcing sentences of imprisonment, in accordance with principles of equitable distribution, as provided in the Rules of Procedure and Evidence;

(b) The application of widely accepted international treaty standards governing the treatment of prisoners;

(c) The views of the sentenced person;

(d) The nationality of the sentenced person;

(e) Such other factors regarding the circumstances of the crime or the person sentenced, or the effective enforcement of the sentence, as may be appropriate in designating the State of enforcement.

4. If no State is designated under paragraph 1, the sentence of imprisonment shall be served in a prison facility made available by the host State, in accordance with the conditions set out in the headquarters agreement referred to in article 3, paragraph 2. In such a case, the costs arising out of the enforcement of a sentence of imprisonment shall be borne by the Court.