BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter one. TASKS AND LIMITS OF EFFECT
Art 2. (2) The Penal Procedure Code shall also apply in the cases of performing court orders of another country, placed by virtue of an agreement or under the terms of reciprocity.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part two. EVIDENCING
Chapter fourteen. METHODS OF EVIDENCING
Section V. Search and Seizure
Art. 159. On a request of the court or of the bodies of the pre-trial procedures, all establishments, juridical persons, officials and citizens shall be obliged to preserve and deliver the objects, papers, computer information data, the carriers of such data and data about the subscriber, which are in their possession and may be of importance for the case.
Art. 160. (1) Where there is sufficient grounds to presume that in a room or person there are objects, papers or computer information systems, containing computer information data, which may be of importance to the case, a search shall be made for finding and seizing them.
(2) A search may also be made with the purpose of tracing down a person or a dead body.
Art. 161. (1) Search and seizure in the pre-trial procedures shall be carried out with the permission of a judge of the respective court of first instance or of a judge of the court of first instance where the action shall be performed, upon request of the prosecutor.
(2) In urgent cases, where this is the only possibility for the gathering and preservation of the evidence, the bodies of the pre-trial procedures may carry out a search and seizure even without a permission of a judge of the respective court of first instance or of a judge of the nearest court of equal rank. The record of the carried out investigation proceeding shall be presented for approval to the judge without delay but not later than 24 hours.
(3) Search and seizure in the pre-trial procedures shall be carried out on a decision of the court, which is trying the case.
Art. 162. (1) Search and seizure shall be conducted in the presence of witnesses of the act and of the person using the premises or of an adult member of his/her family.
(2) Where the person using the premises or a member of his/her family is unable to attend, the search and seizure shall be conducted in the presence of the chief of the block of flats or a representative of the municipality or the town hall.
(3) The search and seizure in premises, which are used by state or public services, shall be conducted in the presence of a representative of the service.
(4) Search and seizure in premises used by a legal person, shall be carried out in the presence of its representative. Where a representative of the legal person is not able to present, the search and seizure shall be carried out of a representative of the municipality or of the town hall.
(5) Search and seizure in premises of foreign representations of international organisations and in houses of their employees, which enjoy immunity with regard to the criminal jurisdiction of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be conducted with the consent of the chief of the representation office and in the presence of a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs .
(6) Whereas the search and seizure are related to computer information systems and software products, the actions shall be carried out in the presence of an expert- technical assistant.
Art. 163. (1) Search and seizure shall be performed during the day, except if they brook no delay.
(2) Before commencement of search and seizure, the respective body shall submit the warrant thereof and shall propose to be shown the searched objects, papers and computer information systems, where are kept computer information data.
(3) The body conducting the search shall be entitled to prohibit the persons present to come into contact with other persons or between or among themselves and to leave the premises until the search is over.
(4) During search and seizure shall not be carried out any actions, which are not necessary for the purpose thereof. Premises and depositories shall be opened by force only in case of refusal to be opened avoiding unnecessary damages.
(5) When circumstances regarding the private life of the citizens have been disclosed during the search, the necessary measures shall be taken that they are not made public .
(6) The seized objects, papers and computer information systems which contain computer information data shall be submitted to the witnesses of the procedural actions and the other persons present. Whereas necessary, they shall be packed and sealed at the place of seizure.
(7) The seizure of computer information data shall be carried out by record on a paper carrier and another carrier. Whereas the carrier is a paper one, each of the pages shall be signed by the persons under Art. 132, Para 1. In the rest of the cases the carrier shall be sealed by a note, where shall be stated: the case, the body which has carried out the seizure, the place, the date and the names of all of the persons presented as per Art. 132, Para 1 and who shall sign it.
(8) Printing of the carrier, made out under the order of Para 7, shall be admitted for the necessities of the investigation only and with the permission of the prosecutor and shall be performed in the presence of witnesses of procedural actions and of an expert-technical assistant.
Art. 164. (1) Search of a person in the pre-trial procedure without a warrant by a judge of the respective court of firs instance shall be admitted:
1. upon detention;
2. where there are sufficient grounds to consider that persons attending the search have screened objects or papers of significance for the case.
(2) The search shall be conducted by a person of the same sex in the presence of witnesses of the same sex.
(3)The record of the conducted investigation action shall be produced to the judge for approval without delay but not later than within 24 hours.
Art. 165. (1) Interception and seizure of correspondence shall be allowed only when it is necessary for the detection and prevention of serious crimes.
(2) Interception and seizure of correspondence in the pre-trial procedure shall be performed upon request of the prosecutor and with the permission of a judge of the respective court of first instance or of the first-instance court in the district where the action shall be performed.
(3) Interception and seizure of correspondence in the court proceeding shall be performed on a decision of the court trying the case.
(4) Interception and seizure of correspondence shall be performed under the order of Art. 162. Para 1- 4.
(5) The provisions of Para 1 – 4 shall be also applied to interception and seizure of electronic mail.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part two. EVIDENCING
Chapter thirty six. PROCEDURES IN CONNECTION WITH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON PENAL CASES
Section IV. Penal Procedure Transfer
Art. 478. (1) A request for transfer of penal procedure by another state shall be sent to:
1. the Supreme Cassation Prosecution – for pre-trial procedure;
2. the Ministry of Justice – for court procedure.
(2) The request for transfer of penal procedure from another state shall be accepted by the authority under Para 1 when:
1. the act for which the request has been addressed constitutes a crime under the Bulgarian law;
2. the perpetrator bears criminal liability under the Bulgarian law;
3. the perpetrator has permanent residence in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
4. the perpetrator is citizen of the Republic of Bulgaria;
5. the crime for which the request is addressed is not considered to be political or to be related to a political crime, or a war crime;
6. the request does not aim at prosecution or punishment of the person due to his/her race, religion, ethnicity, gender, civil status or political convictions;
7. a penal procedure has started against the perpetrator in the Republic of Bulgaria for the same or for
another crime;
8. the transfer of procedure is in the interest of establishing the truth, and the major evidence is in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria;
9. the execution of the sentence, if a sentence should be enacted, will improve the possibilities of the convicted person for socialisation;
10. the presence in person of the perpetrator may be ensured in the procedure in the Republic of Bulgaria;
11. the sentence, if a sentence should be enacted, may be executed in the Republic of Bulgaria;
12. the request does not contradict the international obligations of the Republic of Bulgaria;
13. the request does not contradict the basic principles of the Bulgarian penal and penal procedure law.
(3) If the authority under Para 1 grants the request, it shall immediately forward it to the competent authorities of penal procedure in accordance with the provisions of this code.
(4) Any procedure action carried out by an authority in the requesting state in accordance with its national legislation, shall enjoy in the Republic of Bulgaria the same force of evidence it would have enjoyed had it been carried out by a Bulgarian authority.
Art. 479. (1) If the person against whom a penal procedure has been instituted in the Republic of Bulgaria is a citizen of another state or has permanent residence in another state, the authorities under Para 2 may send a request for transfer of the penal procedure to this state.
(2) A request for transfer of a penal procedure to another state at the proposal of the competent Bulgarian authority of penal procedure shall be sent by:
1. the Supreme Cassation Prosecution – for pre-trial procedure;
2. the Ministry of Justice – for court procedure.
(3) A request for transfer of penal procedure to another state may be addressed when:
1. the extradition from the requested state of the person, perpetrator of the crime, is not possible, is not allowed or has not been requested for another reason;
2. for establishing the facts, for determining the punishment or for executing the sentence, it is expedient that the penal procedure be held in the requested state;
3. the person who has perpetrated the crime is or will be extradited to the requested state, or for another reason his/her appearance in the penal procedure in that state is possible;
4. the extradition of a person convicted by a Bulgarian court with an effective sentence of imprisonment is not possible or is not allowed by the requested state, or the execution of the sentence in that state is not possible.
(4) If the requested state allows the transfer of the penal procedure, this procedure cannot continue in the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria against the person who has perpetrated the crime, and the imposed sentence under Para 3, Item 4 on the crime in connection with which a transfer of penal procedure has been made, shall not be executed.
(5) The authorities of the pre-trial procedure or the court shall continue the penal procedure or shall send the sentence to be executed, if the requested state:
1. having accepted the request for transfer, fails to institute a penal procedure;
2. subsequently rescinds its decision for transfer of the penal procedure;
3. fails to continue the procedure.
Art. 480. In the event of receiving information from an authority of another state for instituted penal procedure or for procedure which will be instituted in connection with a crime perpetrated in that state, the respective prosecutor under Art. 37 shall decide whether the Bulgarian authorities shall exercise their power under Art. 4, Para 1 for instituting a penal procedure for the same crime.
Additional provisions
§ 1. (1) "Close relatives" in the meaning of this code shall be the direct descendants (including the adopted and stepchildren), the relatives of collateral branches up to fourth degree included, relatives in law up to third degree.
(2) "Data of the traffic" in the meaning of this law shall be all data connected with a message, passing through a computer system, produced by it as an element of a communication chain, with statement of the information of origin, destination, rout, hour, data, size and duration of the connection or of the main service.
Part 2 Evidencing
Chapter 14 Methods of Evidencing
Section 5 Search and Seizure
Article 159
(2) (new – SG 32/10, in force from 28.05.2010) The pre-trial authorities or the Court may request from the European Anti-Fraud Office to provide the reports and the documents attached thereto regarding investigations conducted by the Office.
Part 2 Evidencing
Chapter 17 Investigation
Section 1 Institution of Pre-trial procedure and Conduction of Investigation
Article 218
(1) Where needed, the body of investigation may request form another body of investigation to perform separate actions of investigations.
(2) Where the body of investigation requires so, the bodies of the Ministry of Interior shall be obliged to provide assistance at the performance of concrete actions of investigation.
Part 5 Special Rules
Chapter 30 Special Rules for Dealing with Cases under the Jurisdiction of Specialised Criminal Courts
Article 411
Cases within the jurisdiction of the Specialized Criminal Court
(1) The specialized criminal court shall have jurisdiction in cases of crimes under Art. 321 and Art. 321a of the Penal Code.
(2) The specialized criminal court shall also have jurisdiction in cases of crimes under Art. 116, para 1, item 10, Art. 131, para 1, item 8, Art. 142, para 2, item 6 and 8, Art. 142a, para 2, suggestion two, Art. 143, para 2, Art. 143a, para 3, Art. 144, para 3, suggestion two, Art. 155, para 5, item 1, Art. 156, para 3, item 1, Art. 159, para 5, Art. 159d, suggestion two, Art. 162, para 3, suggestion one and para 4, Art. 195, para 1, item 9, Art. 199, para 1, item 5, Art. 208, para 5, suggestion one, Art. 213a, para 2, т. 5 and para 3, item 3, Art. 214, para 2, item 1 and 2, Art. 216, para 5, suggestion three, Art. 235, para 4, suggestion one, Art. 242, para 1, letter "g", Art. 243, Art. 244, Art. 253, para 3, item 1, suggestion two, Art. 256, para 2, suggestion two, Art. 278a, para 3, suggestion three, Art. 280, para 2, item 5, Art. 282, para 4, Art. 330, para 2, item 4, Art. 337, para 2 and 3, Art. 339, para 2 and 3, Art. 346, para 6, suggestion one and two, Art. 354a, para 2, item 1, Art. 354b, paras 2 through 4, Art. 354c, paras 2 through 4 and Art. 356b of the Penal Code.
(3) The specialized criminal court shall also have jurisdiction in cases of crimes under para 1 and 2 which have been committed abroad.
(4) In those cases where several indictments have been raised against one person, one of which falls within the jurisdiction of the Specialized Criminal Court, the case for all the crimes charged shall be under the jurisdiction of the said court.
(5) Where two or more cases regarding different crimes against different persons are interrelated, they shall be united, if this is required by the proper consideration of each of them. If any of the interrelated cases falls within the jurisdiction of the Specialized Criminal Court, the latter shall be the court competent to hear the united case.
(6) Where a case falls within the jurisdiction both of the Specialized Criminal Court and of a military court, it shall be heard by the military court.
Part 7 Special Procedures
Chapter 36 Procedures in Connection with International Cooperation in Penal Cases
Section 3 International Assistance in Penal Cases
Article 471
Grounds for and content of the international legal assistance
(1) International legal assistance in penal cases of another state shall be rendered on the terms of a concluded international treaty to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party, or on the principle of mutuality. International legal assistance in penal cases shall also be rendered to an international court of justice whose jurisdiction has been recognised by the Republic of Bulgaria.
1. Los Estados Partes, de conformidad con lo dispuesto en la presente Parte y con los procedimientos de su derecho interno, deberán cumplir las solicitudes de asistencia formuladas por la Corte en relación con investigaciones o enjuiciamientos penales a fin de:
(a) Identificar y buscar personas u objetos;
(b) Practicar pruebas, incluidos los testimonios bajo juramento, y producir pruebas, incluidos los dictámenes e informes periciales que requiera la Corte;
(c) Interrogar a una persona objeto de investigación o enjuiciamiento;
(d) Notificar documentos, inclusive los documentos judiciales;
(e) Facilitar la comparecencia voluntaria ante la Corte de testigos o expertos;
(f) Proceder al traslado provisional de personas, de conformidad con lo dispuesto en el párrafo 7;
(g) Realizar inspecciones oculares, inclusive la exhumación y el examen de cadáveres y fosas comunes;
(h) Practicar allanamientos y decomisos;
(i) Transmitir registros y documentos, inclusive registros y documentos oficiales;
(j) Proteger a víctimas y testigos y preservar pruebas;
(k) Identificar, determinar el paradero o inmovilizar el producto y los bienes y haberes obtenidos del crimen y de los instrumentos del crimen, o incautarse de ellos, con miras a su decomiso ulterior y sin perjuicio de los derechos de terceros de buena fe; y
(l) Cualquier otro tipo de asistencia no prohibida por la legislación del Estado requerido y destinada a facilitar la investigación y el enjuiciamiento de crímenes de la competencia de la Corte.
2. La Corte podrá dar seguridades a los testigos o expertos que comparezcan ante ella de que no serán enjuiciados o detenidos ni se restringirá su libertad personal por un acto u omisión anterior a su salida del Estado requerido.
3. Cuando la ejecución de una determinada medida de asistencia detallada en una solicitud presentada de conformidad con el párrafo 1 estuviera prohibida en el Estado requerido por un principio fundamental de derecho ya existente y de aplicación general, el Estado requerido celebrará sin demora consultas con la Corte para tratar de resolver la cuestión. En las consultas se debería considerar si se puede prestar la asistencia de otra manera o con sujeción a condiciones. Si, después de celebrar consultas, no se pudiera resolver la cuestión, la Corte modificará la solicitud según sea necesario.
4. El Estado Parte podrá no dar lugar a una solicitud de asistencia, en su totalidad o en parte, de conformidad con el artículo 72 y únicamente si la solicitud se refiere a la presentación de documentos o la divulgación de pruebas que afecten a su seguridad nacional.
5. Antes de denegar una solicitud de asistencia de conformidad con el párrafo 1 l), el Estado requerido considerará si se puede prestar la asistencia con sujeción a ciertas condiciones, o si es posible hacerlo en una fecha posterior o de otra manera. La Corte o el Fiscal, si aceptan la asistencia sujeta a condiciones, tendrán que cumplirlas.
6. Si no se da lugar a una solicitud de asistencia, el Estado Parte requerido deberá comunicar sin demora los motivos a la Corte o al Fiscal.
(a) La Corte podrá solicitar el traslado provisional de un detenido a los fines de su identificación o de que preste testimonio o asistencia de otra índole. El traslado podrá realizarse siempre que:
(i) El detenido dé, libremente y con conocimiento de causa, su consentimiento; y
(ii) El Estado requerido lo acepte, con sujeción a las condiciones que hubiere acordado con la Corte.
(b) La persona trasladada permanecerá detenida. Una vez cumplidos los fines del traslado, la Corte la devolverá sin dilación al Estado requerido.
(a) La Corte velará por la protección del carácter confidencial de los documentos y de la información, salvo en la medida en que éstos sean necesarios para la investigación y las diligencias pedidas en la solicitud.
(b) El Estado requerido podrá, cuando sea necesario, transmitir al Fiscal documentos o información con carácter confidencial. El Fiscal únicamente podrá utilizarlos para reunir nuevas pruebas.
(c) El Estado requerido podrá, de oficio o a solicitud del Fiscal, autorizar la divulgación ulterior de estos documentos o información, los cuales podrán utilizarse como medios de prueba de conformidad con lo dispuesto en las partes V y VI y de conformidad con las Reglas de Procedimiento y Prueba.
(i) El Estado Parte que reciba solicitudes concurrentes de la Corte y de otro Estado de conformidad con una obligación internacional y que no se refieran a la entrega o la extradición, procurará, en consulta con la Corte y el otro Estado, atender ambas solicitudes, de ser necesario postergando o condicionando una de ellas.
(ii) Si esto no fuera posible, la cuestión de las solicitudes concurrentes se resolverá de conformidad con los principios enunciados en el artículo 90.
(b) Sin embargo, cuando la solicitud de la Corte se refiera a información, bienes o personas que estén sometidos al control de un tercer Estado o de una organización internacional en virtud de un acuerdo internacional, el Estado requerido lo comunicará a la Corte y la Corte dirigirá su solicitud al tercer Estado o a la organización internacional.
10. (a) A solicitud de un Estado Parte que lleve a cabo una investigación o sustancie un juicio por una conducta que constituya un crimen de la competencia de la Corte o que constituya un crimen grave con arreglo al derecho interno del Estado requirente, la Corte podrá cooperar con él y prestarle asistencia;
(b)
(i) La asistencia prestada de conformidad con el apartado a) podrá comprender, entre otras cosas:
a. La transmisión de declaraciones, documentos u otros elementos de prueba obtenidos en el curso de una investigación o de un proceso sustanciado por la Corte; y
b. El interrogatorio de una persona detenida por orden de la Corte;
(ii) En el caso de la asistencia prevista en el apartado (b) (i) a.:
a. Si los documentos u otros elementos de prueba se hubieren obtenido con la asistencia de un Estado, su transmisión estará subordinada al consentimiento de dicho Estado;
b. Si las declaraciones, los documentos u otros elementos de prueba hubieren sido proporcionados por un testigo o un perito, su transmisión estará subordinada a lo dispuesto en el artículo 68.
(c) La Corte podrá, de conformidad con el presente párrafo y en las condiciones enunciadas en él, acceder a una solicitud de asistencia presentada por un Estado que no sea parte en el presente Estatuto.