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.
International assistance in criminal matters
EDIT.