BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE

Part two. EVIDENCING

Chapter thirty six. PROCEDURES IN CONNECTION WITH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON PENAL CASES

Section 1 Transfer of Convicted Persons

Art. 453. (1) The transfer of persons convicted by a court of the Republic of Bulgaria, for serving the punishment in the state whose citizens they are, and the transfer of Bulgarian citizens convicted by a foreign court, for serving the punishment in the Republic of Bulgaria, shall be decided by the Chief Prosecutor under an agreement with the competent authority of the other state, in the presence of consent in writing from the convicted person.

(2) The decision for the transfer of the convicted person may also be made after the execution of the punishment has started.

Art. 454. (1) The consent of a Bulgarian citizen convicted by a foreign court or of a foreign citizen convicted by a Bulgarian court shall not be required for the transfer when:

1. the sentence or the subsequent administrative decision of the state, which has convicted the person, includes an order for expulsion (deportation) or another act under which the person, after his/her release from the place of imprisonment, cannot stay in the territory of the state, which has convicted him/her;

2. before serving the sentence, the convicted person has fled from the state, which has convicted him/her, to the territory of the state whose citizen he/she is.

(2) In the cases under Para 1, item 1, before enacting the decision for transfer, the opinion of the convicted person shall be taken into consideration.

Art. 455. The place, time and procedure for transmitting and receiving the convicted person shall be determined by agreement between the chief prosecutor and the competent authority of the other state .

BULGARIA - PENAL PROCEDURE CODE

Part two. EVIDENCING

Chapter thirty six. PROCEDURES IN CONNECTION WITH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON PENAL CASES

Section 1 Transfer of Convicted Persons

Art. 456. (1) When there are data that the person convicted by a Bulgarian court is in the territory of the state whose citizen he/she is, the chief prosecutor may address a request to the foreign authorities for detaining the person for whom a request will be done for accepting the execution of the sentence, while informing that there is an effective sentence with regard of this person.

(2) In the event of a submitted request for detaining a Bulgarian citizen by another state, Art. 64 and Art. 68 shall be applied respectively.

Article 59
Arrest proceedings in the custodial State
1. A State Party which has received a request for provisional arrest or for arrest and surrender shall immediately take steps to arrest the person in question in accordance with its laws and the provisions of Part 9.
2. A person arrested shall be brought promptly before the competent judicial authority in the custodial State which shall determine, in accordance with the law of that State, that:
(a) The warrant applies to that person;
(b) The person has been arrested in accordance with the proper process; and
(c) The person's rights have been respected.
3. The person arrested shall have the right to apply to the competent authority in the custodial State for interim release pending surrender.
4. In reaching a decision on any such application, the competent authority in the custodial State shall consider whether, given the gravity of the alleged crimes, there are urgent and exceptional circumstances to justify interim release and whether necessary safeguards exist to ensure that the custodial State can fulfil its duty to surrender the person to the Court. It shall not be open to the competent authority of the custodial State to consider whether the warrant of arrest was properly issued in accordance with article 58, paragraph 1 (a) and (b).
5. The Pre-Trial Chamber shall be notified of any request for interim release and shall make recommendations to the competent authority in the custodial State. The competent authority in the
custodial State shall give full consideration to such recommendations, including any recommendations on measures to prevent the escape of the person, before rendering its decision.
6. If the person is granted interim release, the Pre-Trial Chamber may request periodic reports on the status of the interim release.
7. Once ordered to be surrendered by the custodial State, the person shall be delivered to the Court as soon as possible.

Article 89
Surrender of persons to the Court
1. The Court may transmit a request for the arrest and surrender of a person, together with the material supporting the request outlined in article 91, to any State on the territory of which that person may be found and shall request the cooperation of that State in the arrest and surrender of such a person. States Parties shall, in accordance with the provisions of this Part and the procedure under their national law, comply with requests for arrest and surrender.