Chapter 2 Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 30
(2. ) No one shall be detained or subjected to inspection, search or any other infringement of his personal inviolability except on the conditions and in a manner established by law.
Chapter 2 Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 30
(3. ) The state authorities shall be free to detain citizens only in the urgent circumstances expressly stipulated by law, and shall immediately advise the judicial authorities accordingly. The judicial authorities shall rule on the legality of a detention within the next 24 hours.
Chapter 2 Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 31
(1. ) Anyone charged with a crime shall be brought before a court within the time established by law.
Chapter 2 Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 31
(2. ) No one shall be forced to plead guilty, and no one shall be convicted solely by virtue of confession.
Chapter 2 Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 31
(3. ) A defendant shall be considered innocent until proven otherwise by a final verdict.
Chapter 2 Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens
Article 31
(4. ) The rights of a defendant shall not be restricted beyond what is necessary for the purposes of a fair trial.
Chapter 6 The Judiciary
Article 121
(1. ) The courts shall ensure equality and equal opportunities for all competition of the parties in the judicial trail to present their case.
Chapter 6 The Judiciary
Article 121
(2. ) Judicial proceedings shall ensure the establishment of truth.
Chapter 6 The Judiciary
Article 121
(3) All courts shall conduct their hearings in public, unless provided otherwise by law.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter two. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 12.
(1) The court procedure shall be competitive.
(2) The parties in the court procedure shall have equal proceedings rights, except the cases as provided in this code.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter two. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 15. (1) The accused shall be entitled to defence.
(2) The accused and the other persons participating in the penal procedure shall be provided with all procedural remedies necessary for the defence of their rights and legitimate interests.
(3) The court, the prosecutor and the investigating bodies shall make clear to the persons under Para 2 their procedural rights and shall provide them with the possibility to exercise those rights.
(4) The injured person shall be provided with the needed procedural remedies for the defence of his/her rights and legitimate interests.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter two. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Presumption of innocence
Art. 16. The accused shall be considered innocent until the conclusion of the penal proceedings with an effective sentence establishing the contrary.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter two. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 17 (2) No person may be detained for more than 24 hours without the permission of the court. The prosecutor may direct detainment of the accused till he/she is brought before the court.
(3) The respective body shall immediately notify a person, named by the detained, about the detainment.
(4) If the detained is a foreign citizen, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be informed immediately about the detainment.
(5) The court, the prosecutor and the investigating bodies must release every person who has been unlawfully deprived of freedom.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter two. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 21. (1) The penal procedure shall be conducted in the Bulgarian language.
(2) The persons, who do not speak Bulgarian language, may use either their native or another language. In such case, an interpreter shall be appointed.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter two. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Art. 22. (1) The court shall hear the cases within a reasonable term.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter seven. ACCUSED
Section I. General Provisions
Art. 55. (1) The accused shall have the following rights: to learn for which crime he/she is involved in this capacity and on the base of what evidence; to give or to refuse to give explanations about the accusation; to become acquaint with the case, including with the information obtained by usage of special intelligence devices and to make the necessary extracts; to submit evidence; to participate in the penal procedure; to make requests, notes and objections; to make statements last; to appeal the acts which harm his/her rights and legitimate interests; to have a defender. The accused shall have the right of participation of his/her defender in the performance of all of the actions of investigation and other procedural actions with his/her participation, except if he/she abandons explicitly this right.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter seven. ACCUSED
Section II. Restraining Measure and Other Measures of Procedural Compulsion
Art. 63. (4) The detention in custody in the pre-trial proceeding shall not last for more than one year, if the charge is for a major malicious crime and for more than two years, if the charge is for a crime for which a punishment of not less than fifteen years of imprisonment or life imprisonment is provided. In all the rest of the cases, the detention in custody in the pre-trial proceeding shall not last for more than two months.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter seven. ACCUSED
Section II. Restraining Measure and Other Measures of Procedural Compulsion
Art. 65. (3) The case shall be set down for hearing within three-days period following its receipt into the court and shall be heard in open session with the participation of the prosecutor, the accused and his/her defender. The case shall be tried in the absence of the accused, if he/she states that he/she does not want to appear or his/her bringing before the court is impossible for health reasons.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter ten. LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Section I. Defender
Art. 93. (1) The defender shall be selected and empowered by the accused, except in the cases as provided in this code.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part one. GENERAL RULES
Chapter ten. LEGAL ASSISTANCE
Section I. Defender
...
Art. 99. (1) The defender shall have the following rights: to meet alone with the accuses; to become acquaint with the case and to make the needed extracts; to submit evidence; to participate in the penal procedure; to make requests, notes and objections and appeal the acts of the court and of the pre-trial procedure which harm the rights and the legitimate interests of the accused. The defender shall have the right to participate in the all actions of investigation with the participation of the accused, but his/her absence shall not establish obstacle for their performance.
(2) The participation of the defender shall not be an obstacle for the accused to exercise his/her rights under Art. 55 by him/herself.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part two. EVIDENCING
Chapter eleven. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Art. 103. (1) The burden to prove the indictment in cases of general nature shall fall onto the prosecutor and the bodies of investigation, and in cases instituted on a complaint of the injured – onto the private complainant.
(2) The accused shall not be obligated to prove innocence.
(3) Conclusions against the accused, due to he/she did not give or refuses to give explanations or did not prove his/her objections, shall not be made.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part two. EVIDENCING
Chapter thirteen. PROOFS
Section II. Voice Proofs
Art. 115. (1) The accused shall render his/ her explanations orally and directly before the respective body.
Reasons shall be rendered in the presence of a counsel, where the accused so requests. The request shall be entered in the record and the counsel shall be summoned for the interrogation.
(2) The accused shall not be interrogated on commission or by video-conference, except in the cases, where he/she is abroad and where this will not impede the revealing of the objective truth.
(3) The accused shall be entitled to give explanations at any time of the investigation and of the court investigation.
(4) The accused shall be entitled to refuse to give reasons.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part two. EVIDENCING
Chapter fourteen. METHODS OF EVIDENCING
Section II. Interrogation
...
(3) The interrogation of the accused shall start by a question of he/she does understand the accusation and shall be invited, if he/she wishes, to state in a free-text all what he/she knows under the case.
BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE
Part two. EVIDENCING
Chapter fourteen. METHODS OF EVIDENCING
Section II. Interrogation
Art. 142. (1) Where the accused does not speak Bulgarian, an interpreter shall be appointed.
(2) Persons referred to in Art. 148, Para 1, items 1 – 3 shall not act as interpreters.
(3) In case of non-appearance or refusal to perform the task assigned, the interpreter shall be liable as provided under Art. 149, Para 5.
(4) Where the accused is deaf or dumb, an interpreter of information shall be appointed.
(5) The provisions of Para 2 and 3 shall apply accordingly to the interpreters of information.
Part 1 General Rules
Chapter 2 Fundamental Principles
Article 10
Independence of the bodies in the penal procedure
While carrying out their functions, the judges, court jurors, the prosecutors and the investigating bodies shall be independent and shall be subservient only to the law.
Part 1 General Rules
Chapter 2 Fundamental Principles
Article 13
Detection of the objective truth
(1) The courts and the investigating bodies shall, within the limits of their competence, be obligated to take all measures to ensure the detection of the objective truth.
(2) The objective truth shall be detected following the order and through the means provided by this Code.
Part 1 General Rules
Chapter 2 Fundamental Principles
Article 14
Taking decisions by inner conviction
(1) The court and the investigating bodies shall take their decisions by inner conviction, based on objective, thorough and complete inspection of all circumstances of the case, under the guidance of the law.
(2) Evidence and the instruments of their finding shall not have preliminarily determined force
Part 1 General Rules
Chapter 2 Fundamental Principles
Article 18
Immediacy
The court, and the investigating bodies shall base their decisions on evidencing materials, which they shall collect and examine in person, except in cases provided for by this Code
Part 1 General Rules
Chapter 3 Institution, Discontinuation and Suspension of the Penal Proceedings
Article 29
(1) In the body of the court may not participate a judge or juror, who:
1. has participated in the body of the court, and has pronounced:
a) a verdict or a decision in the first, appeal or cassation instance or in the renewal of the penal case;
b) determination of approval of the agreement on deciding the case ;
c) determination of suspension of the penal procedure;
d) determination of taking, confirmation, change or cancellation of a restraining measure detention in custody in the pre-trial procedure;
2. who has carried out investigation on the case;
3. who has been a prosecutor on the case;
4. who has been defendant, trustee or guardian of the defendant, defender or attorney on the case;
5. who has been or may join the penal procedure as a private prosecutor, private complainant, civil claimant or civil defendant;
6. who has been witness, witness of procedural actions, translator, interpreter of information or an expert- technical assistant on the case;
7. who is a spouse or a close relative of the persons under items 1 – 6;
8. who is a spouse or a close relative of another member of the court body;
(2) In the court body may not participate a judge or a juror, who due to other circumstances may be considered prejudiced or interested directly or indirectly in the outcome of the case.
Part 1 General Rules
Chapter 10 Legal Assistance
Section 1 Defender
Article 94
(3) (amend. - SG 32/10, in force from 28.05.2010) Apart from the cases referred to in Para. 1, in lawsuits for severe crimes the prosecutor or the Court may appoint a back-up defender for the defendant person pursuant to the Law on the Legal Aid, whether or not a defender is appointment, if this is of exceptional importance for the conduct of the penal procedure within reasonable term.
(4) (new - SG 32/10, in force from 28.05.2010) In the cases of Para. 1 the appointed defender shall continue to participate in the penal proceedings as a backup defender, when the defendant person has appointed another defender or refuses a defender, if the conditions under Para. 4 are met.
(5) (new - SG 32/10, in force from 28.05.2010) The backup defender shall get acquainted with
the lawsuit, take the necessary extracts and attend the procedural acts involving the defendant person. The rest of the rights under Art. 99, Para. 1 may be exercised at the request or with the consent of the defendant person, and if there is no such consent – when the defence is obligatory and the appointed defender, effectively summoned, fails to appear due to inexcusable reasons.
Part 2 Evidencing
Chapter 13 Proofs
Section 2 Voice Proofs
Article 118
Persons, who may not be witnesses
(1) Persons, who have participated in the same penal proceeding in another procedural capacity, shall not be witnesses, except:
1.the defendant against whom the procedure has been discontinued or has concluded with an effective verdict;
2. the victim, the private prosecutor, the civil claimant, the civil defendant;
3.(amend. - SG 32/10, in force from 28.05.2010) the witnesses of procedural acts, as well as officers of the Ministry of Interior and of the military police, who presented the performance of inspection, search, seizure, trial experiment and recognition of persons and objects.
(2) The persons who have performed actions of investigation and court investigation actions shall not be witnesses, even if the records of the performed by them actions have not been made out under the conditions and following the order as provided by this code.
(3) Witnesses shall not be also persons, who due to physical deficiencies are unable to properly perceive the facts significant to the case or to render trustworthy testimonies about them.
Extradition and European Arrest Warrant Act
Chapter three - EXTRADITION PROCEDURE
Title I - Extradition at the request of another state
Article 13
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(6) Within the period under para 5 the District Prosecutor shall appoint a defence counsel and an interpreter to the person where he/she has no command of the Bulgarian language and shall lodge an application for his/her provisional arrest with the respective District Court.
Extradition and European Arrest Warrant Act
Chapter three - EXTRADITION PROCEDURE
Title I - Extradition at the request of another state
Article 14
(4) Within the period under para 2 the District Prosecutor shall:
1. Provide the requested person with a defence counsel, where the latter has none, and an interpreter if he/she has no command of the Bulgarian language;
2. Present the person and his/her defence counsel with all documents contained in the file and take written explanations from the person;
3. Explain the person his/her right to give consent for his/her immediate extradition before the court;
4. Lodge an application with the respective court for the imposition of remand in custody in respect of the requested person until completion of extradition proceedings;
5. Submit the file for examination by the respective District Court.
Extradition and European Arrest Warrant Act
Chapter three - EXTRADITION PROCEDURE
Title I - Extradition at the request of another state
Article 15
(2) The prosecutor shall ensure the appearance of the requested person. The participation of a defence counsel and an interpreter in the court hearing shall be mandatory.
(3) The ruling of the District Court may be appealed and protested within three days before the respective Appellate Court.
Extradition and European Arrest Warrant Act
Chapter three - EXTRADITION PROCEDURE
Title I - Extradition at the request of another state
Article 17
(2) The court shall appoint a defence counsel to the requested person and an interpreter where he/she has no command of the Bulgarian language and shall explain his/her right to consent to immediate extradition and the implications thereof.
1. En las investigaciones realizadas de conformidad con el presente Estatuto:
(a) Nadie será obligado a declarar contra sí mismo ni a declararse culpable;
(b) Nadie será sometido a forma alguna de coacción, intimidación o amenaza, a torturas ni a otros tratos o castigos crueles, inhumanos o degradantes;
(c) Quien haya de ser interrogado en un idioma que no sea el que comprende y habla perfectamente contará, sin cargo alguno, con los servicios de un intérprete competente y las traducciones que sean necesarias a los efectos de cumplir el requisito de equidad; y
(d) Nadie será sometido a arresto o detención arbitrarios ni será privado de su libertad salvo por los motivos previstos en el presente Estatuto y de conformidad con los procedimientos establecidos en él.
2. Cuando haya motivos para creer que una persona ha cometido un crimen de la competencia de la Corte y esa persona haya de ser interrogada por el Fiscal o por las autoridades nacionales, en cumplimiento de una solicitud hecha de conformidad con lo dispuesto en la Parte IX, tendrá además los derechos siguientes, de los que será informada antes del interrogatorio:
(a) A ser informada de que existen motivos para creer que ha cometido un crimen de la competencia de la Corte;
(b) A guardar silencio, sin que ello pueda tenerse en cuenta a los efectos de determinar su culpabilidad o inocencia;
(c) A ser asistida por un abogado defensor de su elección o, si no lo tuviere, a que se le asigne un defensor de oficio, siempre que fuere necesario en interés de la justicia y, en cualquier caso, sin cargo si careciere de medios suficientes; y
(d) A ser interrogada en presencia de su abogado, a menos que haya renunciado voluntariamente a su derecho a asistencia letrada.
1. El acusado estará presente durante el juicio.
2. Si el acusado, estando presente en la Corte, perturbare continuamente el juicio, la Sala de Primera Instancia podrá disponer que salga de ella y observe el proceso y dé instrucciones a su defensor desde fuera, utilizando, en caso necesario, tecnologías de comunicación. Esas medidas se adoptarán únicamente en circunstancias excepcionales, después de que se haya demostrado que no hay otras posibilidades razonables y adecuadas, y únicamente durante el tiempo que sea estrictamente necesario.
1. Se presumirá que toda persona es inocente mientras no se pruebe su culpabilidad ante la Corte de conformidad con el derecho aplicable.
2. Incumbirá al Fiscal probar la culpabilidad del acusado.
3. Para dictar sentencia condenatoria, la Corte deberá estar convencida de la culpabilidad del acusado más allá de toda duda razonable.
1. En la determinación de cualquier cargo, el acusado tendrá derecho a ser oído públicamente, habida cuenta de las disposiciones del presente Estatuto, y a una audiencia justa e imparcial, así como a las siguientes garantías mínimas en pie de plena igualdad:
(a) A ser informado sin demora y en forma detallada, en un idioma que comprenda y hable perfectamente, de la naturaleza, la causa y el contenido de los cargos que se le imputan;
(b) A disponer del tiempo y de los medios adecuados para la preparación de su defensa y a comunicarse libre y confidencialmente con un defensor de su elección;
(c) A ser juzgado sin dilaciones indebidas;
(d) Con sujeción a lo dispuesto en el párrafo 2 del artículo 63, el acusado tendrá derecho a hallarse presente en el proceso y a defenderse personalmente o ser asistido por un defensor de su elección; a ser informado, si no tuviera defensor, del derecho que le asiste a tenerlo y, siempre que el interés de la justicia lo exija, a que se le nombre defensor de oficio, gratuitamente si careciere de medios suficientes para pagarlo;
(e) A interrogar o hacer interrogar a los testigos de cargo y a obtener la comparecencia de los testigos de descargo y que éstos sean interrogados en las mismas condiciones que los testigos de cargo. El acusado tendrá derecho también a oponer excepciones y a presentar cualquier otra prueba admisible de conformidad con el presente Estatuto;
(f) A ser asistido gratuitamente por un intérprete competente y a obtener las traducciones necesarias para satisfacer los requisitos de equidad, si en las actuaciones ante la Corte o en los documentos presentados a la Corte se emplea un idioma que no comprende y no habla;
(g) A no ser obligado a declarar contra sí mismo ni a declararse culpable y a guardar silencio, sin que ello pueda tenerse en cuenta a los efectos de determinar su culpabilidad o inocencia;
(h) A declarar de palabra o por escrito en su defensa sin prestar juramento; y
(i) A que no se invierta la carga de la prueba ni le sea impuesta la carga de presentar contrapruebas.
2. Además de cualquier otra divulgación de información estipulada en el presente Estatuto, el Fiscal divulgará a la defensa, tan pronto como sea posible, las pruebas que obren en su poder o estén bajo su control y que, a su juicio, indiquen o tiendan a indicar la inocencia del acusado, o a atenuar su culpabilidad, o que puedan afectar a la credibilidad de las pruebas de cargo. En caso de duda acerca de la aplicación de este párrafo, la Corte decidirá.