قاعدة بيانات التشريعات

Competent body

Article 453

(1) The transfer of individuals sentenced by a court of the Republic of Bulgaria to the purpose of serving their punishment in the state of which they are the nationals, and the transfer of Bulgarian citizens sentenced by a foreign court for the purpose of serving their punishment in the Republic of Bulgaria shall be decided by the Prosecutor-General in an agreement with the competent body of the other state, in the case where consent of the sentenced individual in writing is available.

(2) A decision on the transfer of a sentenced individual may also be taken after service of his/her punishment has begun.

 

Transfer in the absence of consent by the individual

Article 454

(1) The consent of a Bulgarian national convicted by a foreign court or of a foreign national convicted by a Bulgarian court shall not be required, where:

1. The sentence or a subsequent administrative decision of the sentencing state includes an expulsion (deportation) order or another act, by virtue of which the individual, following his/her release from an institution for deprivation of liberty, may not stay within the territory of the sentencing state;

2. Before serving his or her sentence the sentenced individual has escaped from the sentencing state to the territory of the state whose national he or she is.

(2) In cases falling under Paragraph 1, item 1, before issuing a decision for transfer, the opinion of the sentenced person shall be taken into account.

 

Setting the place, time and procedure for delivery and admission of the sentenced person

Article 455

The place, time and procedure for delivery and admission of the convicted person shall be determined by agreement between the Prosecutor General and the competent body of the other state.

 

Request for detention

Article 456

(1) Where information is available that an individual sentenced by a Bulgarian court is located on the territory of the state whose national he or she is, the Prosecutor-General may extend a request to the foreign country's authorities to detain said individual, in respect of whom a request shall be made for the enforcement of his or her sentence to be taken over, notifying that a sentence for such individual has come into effect.

(2) In the event a request for the detention of a Bulgarian national has been received from another state, Article 64 and 68 shall apply mutatis mutandis.

 

Decision of the court on issues relevant to the execution of the sentence

Article 457

(1) After the sentenced individual arrives in the Republic of Bulgaria or it has been found that he or she is located on its territory, the Prosecutor-General shall forward the sentence accepted for execution and the materials attached thereto, to Sofia City Court, with a proposal to resolve the issues relevant to its execution.

(2) The court shall decide on the proposal by ruling at a court hearing with the participation of a prosecutor and with summonsing of the sentenced individual.

(3) (Supplemented, SG No. 27/2009, effective 1.06.2009, amended, SG No. 63/2017, effective 5.11.2017) The ruling shall specify the number and date of the sentence admitted for execution, the case in which it has been issued, the text of the law of the Republic of Bulgaria providing for responsibility for the crime committed, the term of punishment by deprivation of liberty imposed by the foreign court, and shall determine the initial regime for serving the punishment.

(4) Where under the law of the Republic of Bulgaria the maximum term of deprivation of liberty for the committed crime is shorter than that fixed in the sentence, the court shall decrease the imposed punishment to that term. Where the law of the Republic of Bulgaria does not provide for deprivation of liberty for the crime committed, the court shall determine a punishment which most fully corresponds to that imposed with the sentence.

(5) The pre-trial detention and the punishment already served in the state in which the sentence has been pronounced shall be deducted, and where the punishments are different the same shall be taken into consideration in determining the term of the punishment.

(6) The additional punishments imposed with the sentence shall be subject to execution if such are provided in the respective text of the legislation of the Republic of Bulgaria, and they have not been executed in the state in which the sentence has been pronounced.

(7) The ruling of the court shall be subject to appeal before Sofia Appellate Court.

 

Execution of a judgement of a foreign court for the revocation or modification of a sentence

Article 458

(1) A judgement modifying a sentence issued by the court of the other state after the transfer of the sentenced individual shall be admitted for execution pursuant to the procedure under the Article 457.

(2) A judgement for the revocation of a sentence issued by the court of the other state after transfer of the sentenced individual shall be immediately enforced at the orders of the Prosecutor-General.

(3) Where the sentence of the foreign court has been revoked and a new investigation or trial of the case has been ruled, the issue of the institution of criminal proceedings against the person delivered to the purpose of serving punishment shall be decided by the Prosecutor-General pursuant to the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria.

 

Review of the sentence

Article 459

(1) The sentence with respect to an individual transferred or admitted pursuant to this Section to the purpose of serving punishment shall be subject to review only by the competent bodies of the state in which it has been issued.

(2) Where the sentence with respect to an individual transferred to the purpose of serving punishment in another state is revoked or modified, the Supreme Prosecution Office of Cassation shall forward a copy of the judgement to the competent body of that state. If a new investigation or trial of the case has been ruled, all the necessary materials therefore shall also be forwarded.

 

Termination of punishment service in the event of amnesty

Article 460

(1) In the event of amnesty in the Republic of Bulgaria, service of punishment under a foreign sentence admitted for execution shall be terminated pursuant to the general procedure.

(2) In the event of amnesty in the state in which the sentence admitted for execution has been issued, service of the punishment shall be terminated immediately by order of the Prosecutor-General.

(3) In the event of amnesty in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Prosecutor-General shall notify immediately the competent body of the state to which the individual has been transferred for serving the punishment.

 

Force and effect of the sentence

Article 461

The sentence accepted for execution pursuant to this Section, as well as the decision for its modification or revocation, shall have the force and effect of sentence and decision issued by a court of the Republic of Bulgaria.

 

Application of the provisions of this Section

Article 462

The provisions of this Section shall be applicable unless otherwise agreed in an international agreement to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party.