BULGARIA – CRIMINAL CODE
GENERAL PART
Chapter Five - METING OUT OF PUNISHMENTS
Article 54
(1) The court shall mete out punishments within the limits provided by law for the crime committed, guided by the provisions of the general part of this Code and taking into consideration the following:
the degree of social danger of the act and the perpetrator,
the motives for crime perpetration, and other attenuating or aggravating circumstances.
(2) The attenuating circumstances shall condition the infliction of a milder punishment, and the aggravating ones of a severer punishment.
Article 55
(1) In case of exceptional or of a great number of attenuating circumstances, where even the mildest punishment provided by law proves disproportionately severe, the court:
1. shall fix a punishment under the lowest limit;
2. shall substitute:
a) (Amended, SG No. 153/1998) life imprisonment for deprivation of liberty for a term from fifteen to twenty years;
b) (Amended, SG No. 28/1982, SG No. 10/1993, SG No. 62/1997, amended and supplemented, SG No. 92/2002 - effective 01.01.2005, with respect to the punishment of probation, amended, SG No. 26/2004, SG No. 103/2004) deprivation of liberty, where the lowest limit has not been specified - for probation, and with respect to minors - for probation or public censure.
c) (Amended, SG Nos. No. 28/1982, SG No. 10/1993, SG No. 62/1997, SG No. 92/2002, SG No. 103/2004) probation - for a fine BGN of one hundred (100) up to five hundred (500).
(2) In the cases of sub-paragraph 1 of the preceding paragraph where the punishment is a fine, the court may specify punishment under the lowest limit by one half at most.
(3) In such cases the court may not impose the lesser punishment provided by law along with punishment by deprivation of liberty.
(4) (Repealed, SG No. 28/1982).
Article 56
The circumstances considered by law in defining the respective crime shall not be attenuating and aggravating circumstances.
Article 57
(1) Where the Special Part of this Code provides possibility to impose one punishment from a choice of two or more punishments for the perpetrated crime, the court shall determine the most appropriate punishment, in kind and measure, guided by the rules of the preceding articles.
(2) Where the Special Part of this Code provides possibility to impose concurrently two or more punishments for a certain crime, the court shall, guided by the rules of the preceding articles, determine the extent of each punishment so that they shall, in their totality, comply to the objectives set forth under Article 36.
Article 58
The court may also apply the provisions of Article 55 in the following cases:
a) in the case of attempt - due to the non-completion of the crime, considering also the circumstances under Article 18, paragraph (2);
b) in the case of accessory - where the extent of the perpetrator's participation in the crime is small.
Article 58a
(1) When enacting a conviction in the cases under Article 373, (2) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the court determines the sentence of imprisonment, guided by the provisions of the General Part of this Code and such reduces the sentence at a third.
(2) In cases under Article 57, (1), where the court determines as the most appropriate the type of verdict life imprisonment without replacement, does not enact it and the verdict life imprisonment replaces with imprisonment from twenty to thirty years.
(3) Court determines the extent of the sentence of imprisonment within the lowest minimum and within the highest maximum the sentence of imprisonment under paragraph (2) and the sentence of imprisonment provided for in the Special Part of this Code.
(4) In cases where the conditions under paragraph (1) to (3) and the conditions under Article 55 are evident, the court applies only Article 55, if it is more favorable to the offender. (5) The rules under paragraph (1)-(4) do not apply to the provided under the Special Part of this Code penalties under Artile 37, (1), pt 2-11.
Sentencing - national proceedings
Sentencing - national procedures for national proceedings
Determination of sentence - national proceedings
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