Bulgaria’s Parliament Adopted Changes to the Criminal Procedure Code

Bulgaria’s Parliament passed on 30^th of June two drafts for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, one submitted by the Council of Ministers, the second one submitted by MPs from the opposition party BSP for Bulgaria.

The government’s proposal aims to speed up the process in the pre-trial phase. And the socialists’ proposal is to deprive the convicted of the possibility of judging whether the time for early release had occurred. They propose that this be solved by the authorities that execute the punishment.

This amendment was provoked by a case that triggered public outcry, namely, an opportunity for members of "The Impudent” kidnapping group to be released from prison earlier. The BSP proposal was backed by the ruling majority.