Bulgaria's Special Tribunal to Start Functioning Mid-2011

Bulgarian Parliament voted Thursday that the start date of the new special tribunal should be in six months. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's special anti-mafia tribunal will start operating in the summer of 2011 after the parliament voted that the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code should come into force six months after their adoption.

According to the MPs, the 6-month period is needed to constitute the court and to select the magistrates that will work there.

The Specialized Criminal Court will hear cases of organized crime, the parliament decided at second reading Thursday.

The MPs also agreed that if a person is tried on several charges, one of which is under the jurisdiction of the special tribunal, then all of the cases will be under the same court.

Following the same principle, when two or more cases for different crimes against different people are connected, they should be united, and if one of the cases is under the special tribunal, then the united case will also be under the same court.

When determining the jurisdiction between the Specialized Criminal Court and the Military tribunal, the latter will be leading, the MPs agreed. The Specialized Criminal Court of Appeals will be the upper body, while the last will be the Supreme Court of Cassations.

The summoned by the specialized magistrates will be obliged to appear at the hearing, regardless of their attendance in other courts or authorities of the trial.

According to Maya Manolova, MP from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the reasons for the adoption of the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code were only political.

"The majority wants to direct certain type of cases against certain people, including political opponents, to the specialized tribunal, which is a much more severe body," Manolova said.

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