I. Presumption of Innocence and the Framework of Criminal Procedure
Bulgarian criminal procedure is governed principally by the Criminal Procedure Code (Наказателно-процесуален кодекс, НПК), which enshrines the presumption of innocence as its foundational principle under Article 16: an accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a final court judgment, and the burden of proving guilt rests entirely on the prosecution. The Code distinguishes two principal stages of the criminal process — the pre-trial (investigative) phase, conducted under the direction of an investigator and a supervising prosecutor, and the trial phase, conducted before a court of competent jurisdiction. Each stage confers distinct procedural rights on the person under investigation or accused, which are examined in turn below.
II. Rights at the Pre-Trial (Investigation) Stage
A person who becomes the object of a criminal investigation in Bulgaria acquires the formal status of accused (обвиняем) once a prosecutor or investigator issues a decree bringing charges (постановление за привличане на обвиняем). From that moment, and in practice from the moment of any detention, the accused is entitled to a defined set of procedural guarantees.
- Right to be informed of the charge — promptly and in a language the accused understands, including the legal classification of the alleged offence and the underlying facts.
- Right to remain silent — no adverse inference may be drawn from an accused person's refusal to give explanations, and no person may be compelled to incriminate themselves.
- Right to legal counsel — from the moment of detention or the first investigative act involving the accused, including the right to a court-appointed defence lawyer where one has not been retained.
- Right to participate in the investigation — including the right to submit evidence, request specific investigative actions, and be present during certain procedural steps such as expert examinations.
- Right to access the case file — in full, before the case is referred to court, so as to prepare an effective defence.
III. Rights During Detention and Remand in Custody
Bulgarian law imposes strict temporal limits on deprivation of liberty prior to conviction. Police detention under the Ministry of Interior Act may not exceed 24 hours, and a prosecutor's order of detention may extend this to a maximum of 72 hours, after which the detained person must either be released or brought before a court with a request for remand in custody (мярка за неотклонение задържане под стража). Only a court — never a prosecutor or investigator acting alone — may order remand in custody, and the detained person has the right to be present, to be heard, and to be represented by counsel at that hearing. An order for remand in custody may be appealed to the next higher court, and Bulgarian law further guarantees a periodic judicial review of continued detention, so that pre-trial custody may not continue indefinitely without renewed judicial scrutiny of its necessity.
IV. The Right to Defence and Legal Representation
The right to defence is treated under Bulgarian law as one of the most fundamental guarantees of the criminal process. It includes the unqualified right to retain a defence lawyer of the accused's own choosing at any stage of the proceedings, and, in defined categories of cases — including where the accused is a minor, is unable to conduct their own defence, faces a charge carrying a serious custodial sentence, or does not speak Bulgarian — the appointment of counsel is mandatory and cannot be waived. Communications between the accused and defence counsel are confidential, and the defence has the right to be given adequate time and facilities to prepare, including advance notice of investigative and trial acts in which the accused is entitled to participate.
V. Rights During the Trial Stage
Once the prosecutor refers the case to court, the accused becomes a defendant (подсъдим) before a court that must be independent and impartial. Bulgarian trial procedure guarantees a public hearing (save for defined exceptions such as the protection of minors or classified information), the right to be present throughout the proceedings, the right to examine or have examined the witnesses against the defendant, the right to call defence witnesses under the same conditions as the prosecution, and the right to a qualified interpreter free of charge where the defendant does not understand Bulgarian. The prosecution bears the burden of proving guilt beyond reasonable doubt, and any residual doubt must be resolved in favour of the defendant.
VI. Remedies for Violation of Procedural Rights
Bulgarian law provides several avenues of redress where the rights described above are violated. Evidence obtained in breach of the procedural rules governing its collection may be excluded from the case on the defendant's application. A first-instance judgment may be challenged by way of appeal (въззивна жалба) on both factual and legal grounds, and a final avenue of cassation review before the Supreme Court of Cassation is available on defined legal grounds. Separately, a person who has been unlawfully detained, prosecuted, or convicted may bring a claim for compensation against the state under the Act on the Liability of the State and Municipalities for Damage, covering both pecuniary loss and non-pecuniary harm arising from the unlawful action of the investigating and prosecuting authorities.