Penal Law

Police detention in a foreign country is a real nightmare and an experience nobody wants to endure. Unfortunately, it happens all the time, everywhere, and Bulgaria is not an exception. Many things can go wrong and lead to police arrest and even prosecution; traffic accidents, non-declaring of funds at border checks, domestic incidents, just to name a few. These examples are probably the most “innocent” and most frequent events that force many foreign nationals to defend themselves in the Bulgarian courts after they are released (eventually) from police custody.

If being detained, the person is often under enormous stress and his actions are not always logical or correct from a legal point of view. There are many cases when the developments during the first hours of the detention have played such an important role in the latter court hearings, that all further efforts by the defense have been completely undermined. Therefore it is of utmost importance that the detained person asks for immediate legal assistance and representation. It is also extremely important that the person is released from custody as soon as possible, which can be ensured best by means of professional legal representation. Early release from the police quarter will guarantee the defendant better possibilities to build an optimal defense strategy and will relief him from the stress of being under custody in abnormal conditions.

Our solicitors are well prepared to react swiftly in similar extreme situations. Irrespectively of the time of the day and the location of the police department where the person is detained, we will provide a professional criminal solicitor who will act in emergency and will ensure that the best legal solution is applied. Our solicitor will fully support the client and will ensure that he is released from custody as soon as possible. We believe this emergency service is absolutely essential for everybody in similar, unfortunate situation and we are confident that our services can be invaluable.

In recent years the penal lawsuits in Bulgaria have multiplied. This phenomenon is caused mainly by the serious determination of the authorities to fight corruption and organized crime, but even more importantly by the legislative amendments to the Bulgarian penal code, which expanded dramatically the scope of incriminated offences. Previously, perfectly legal actions, such as dealings between affiliates with the purpose of optimizing taxes, constitute now punishable crime. Similarly, administrative violations, such as non payment of social security contributions, were recently criminalized as well and are now being punished by serious jail terms. Opposed to that, amendments that decriminalize certain actions, such as the recent narrowing of the scope of currency offenses, are passing the Parliament very rare. In line with that, the amount of enquiries that we are now receiving to defend private individuals in criminal cases, have increased steadily during the recent years.

Professional legal representation in criminal lawsuits is probably the most important and essential kind of assistance, as the most important human value for the defendant – its freedom, is at stake. The defendant is facing the whole might and power of the state legal machine and it is only up to him and his legal representative to defend his innocence (not to be confused with the “presumption of innocence” or “Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit, non qui negat“). We believe we are in position to provide the best legal defense against criminal incriminations in Bulgaria. We are closely monitoring the legal developments and the laws that are being passed by the Parliament and are constantly keeping up to date with the particularities of the Bulgarian legal system.