BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part two. EVIDENCING
Chapter thirty six. PROCEDURES IN CONNECTION WITH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON PENAL CASES
Section III. International Legal Assistance in Penal Cases
Art. 472. The international legal assistance may be refused if the granting of the request could endanger the sovereignty, national security, public order or other interests protected by law.
Part 7 Special Procedures
Chapter 36 Procedures in Connection with International Cooperation in Penal Cases
Section 1 Transfer of Convicted Persons
Article 464
Terms of refusal to recognise and execute a verdict of a foreign court
A request by another state for recognising and executing a verdict enacted by its court shall be rejected when:
1. the imposed punishment cannot be executed due to the expiry of the prescription stipulated in the Bulgarian Penal Code;
2. against the convicted person at the time of perpetrating the crime, a penal procedure could not have started in the Republic of Bulgaria;
3. for the same person for the same crime in the Republic of Bulgaria there is an uncompleted penal procedure, an effective verdict, decree or effective determination or disposition for terminating the case;
4. there are sufficient grounds to consider that the verdict has been imposed or aggravated for racial, religious, national or political considerations;
5. the execution contradicts the international obligations of the Republic of Bulgaria;
6. the crime was perpetrated out of its territory.
1. A State Party which receives a request from the Court for the surrender of a person under article 89 shall, if it also receives a request from any other State for the extradition of the same person for the same conduct which forms the basis of the crime for which the Court seeks the person's surrender, notify the Court and the requesting State of that fact.
2. Where the requesting State is a State Party, the requested State shall give priority to the request from the Court if:
(a) The Court has, pursuant to article 18 or 19, made a determination that the case in respect of which surrender is sought is admissible and that determination takes into account the investigation or prosecution conducted by the requesting State in respect of its request for extradition; or
(b) The Court makes the determination described in subparagraph (a) pursuant to the requested State's notification under paragraph 1.
3. Where a determination under paragraph 2 (a) has not been made, the requested State may, at its discretion, pending the determination of the Court under paragraph 2 (b), proceed to deal with the request for extradition from the requesting State but shall not extradite the person until the Court has determined that the case is inadmissible. The Court's determination shall be made on an expedited basis.
4. If the requesting State is a State not Party to this Statute the requested State, if it is not under an international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State, shall give priority to the request for surrender from the Court, if the Court has determined that the case is admissible.
5. Where a case under paragraph 4 has not been determined to be admissible by the Court, the requested State may, at its discretion, proceed to deal with the request for extradition from the requesting State.
6. In cases where paragraph 4 applies except that the requested State is under an existing international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State not Party to this Statute, the requested State shall determine whether to surrender the person to the Court or extradite the person to the requesting State. In making its decision, the requested State shall consider all the relevant factors, including but not limited to:
(a) The respective dates of the requests;
(b) The interests of the requesting State including, where relevant, whether the crime was committed in its territory and the nationality of the victims and of the person sought; and
(c) The possibility of subsequent surrender between the Court and the requesting State.
7. Where a State Party which receives a request from the Court for the surrender of a person also receives a request from any State for the extradition of the same person for conduct other than that which constitutes the crime for which the Court seeks the person's surrender:
(a) The requested State shall, if it is not under an existing international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State, give priority to the request from the Court;
(b) The requested State shall, if it is under an existing international obligation to extradite the person to the requesting State, determine whether to surrender the person to the Court or to extradite the person to the requesting State. In making its decision, the requested State shall consider all the relevant factors, including but not limited to those set out in paragraph 6, but shall give special consideration to the relative nature and gravity of the conduct in question.
Where pursuant to a notification under this article, the Court has determined a case to be inadmissible, and subsequently extradition to the requesting State is refused, the requested State shall notify the Court of this decision.
4. In accordance with article 72, a State Party may deny a request for assistance, in whole or in part, only if the request concerns the production of any documents or disclosure of evidence which relates to its national security.