Bulgarian law provides for two main means of protection for victims of gender-based or domestic violence. One is criminal law, and the other is civil law. In addition, witnesses to such violence may benefit from one, and in some cases both, depending on the specific circumstances.
Which is the most appropriate means depends on the circumstances of each specific case. Here we will present the various options for victims and witnesses to protect themselves from the perpetrator.
Under current Bulgarian legislation, a number of assaults committed in the context of domestic violence, as well as some forms of gender-based violence, are crimes.
For this reason, victims and witnesses of such crimes can benefit from the general means of protection for victims and witnesses, as well as other persons threatened in connection with criminal proceedings. Other general measures of procedural coercion in criminal proceedings can also play a protective role.
Due to the complexity and specifics of criminal proceedings, it is recommended that victims and witnesses consult with a lawyer regarding their rights, and possibly engage one to prepare relevant requests or to challenge acts unfavorable to the victim or witness.
Regardless of this, the first condition for the effectiveness of the means of protection of victims and witnesses in criminal proceedings is their knowledge and active use by the victims and witnesses themselves.
Gender-based is violence directed against a person because of their gender and disproportionately affecting people of a given gender. Not every act of gender-based violence is considered a crime in Bulgaria, and many of those that are recognized as such are crimes only when committed in the context of domestic violence.
According to the definition given in the current version of the Criminal Code, a crime is committed “in conditions of domestic violence“ if it is preceded by systematic exercise of physical, sexual or psychological violence, placing in economic dependence, forced restriction of privacy, personal freedom and personal rights and is committed against an ascendant, descendant, spouse or former spouse, a person with whom a child is born, a person with whom he/she is or was in a de facto marital cohabitation, or a person with whom they live or have lived in the same household.
This definition does not meet international legal standards, especially with regard to the requirement of systematicity, which means that the act must be preceded by three acts of domestic violence committed by the same perpetrator against the same victim.
Only murder, bodily harm, kidnapping, unlawful deprivation of freedom, coercion, the threat of a crime and systematic surveillance (when it is likely to arouse reasonable fear for his life or health, or for the life or health of his relatives).
In all other cases, the relevant act will be prosecuted as an ordinary crime, regardless of whether the state or the victim himself is responsible for prosecuting the perpetrator. Thus, unlawful destruction or damage to another person's property does not have a severe punishable component for an act based on gender or in conditions of domestic violence, but it is still a punishable crime, in which its nature may be taken into account as an aggravating circumstance.
The criminal process has two phases - pre-trial and judicial. Injured person is a concept in the pre-trial phase, as this is the person who has suffered non-pecuniary (pain, suffering) or material damage from the crime. In the judicial phase, this person can already participate as a private prosecutor and/or civil plaintiff at his/her discretion.
The status of “victim“ arises by virtue of the law, and after the initiation of the pre-trial proceedings, you must receive a message from the prosecutor's office informing you of the initiated proceedings and of your rights as a victim. It is important to explicitly - within the framework of your interrogation or with a subsequent request - request the presentation of the materials in the case after the collection of evidence is completed. If you do not make such a request, the collected evidence will not be provided to you for review, requests, comments and objections.
Witnesses are persons who have perceived the circumstances of the crime committed and who should be questioned. The injured person is always a witness with regard to what he or she has suffered.
At the request of the victim or at the request of the prosecutor with the consent of the victim, protective measures may be taken against him or her against the accused. The protection measures are:
Prohibition of the accused from directly approaching the victim
If the accused violates the prohibition, a detention measure is taken against him, if one has not been taken. In the event that a measure has been taken, it is changed to a more severe one.
Measures for the protection of witnesses are not compulsory and are therefore applied either at the request of the witness or at the initiative of the prosecutor with the consent of the witness. Such measures are provided for in two laws: the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on the Protection of Persons Endangered in Connection with Criminal Proceedings.
In order to apply this protection, it is necessary to have sufficient grounds to assume that as a result of the testimony a real danger to the life or health of the witness has arisen or may arise. It is not enough that this danger is hypothetical – it is necessary that there be data from which a reasonable assumption can be made about the existence or possibility of such a danger.
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure, there are three measures for the protection of witnesses:
The Law on the Protection of Persons Endangered in Connection with Criminal Proceedings contains two types of special protection - preliminary and under the Program for the Protection of Persons Endangered. The measures under this law may include changing the place of work, place of residence, nursery or educational institution and even moving to another country. These measures are applied in criminal proceedings for serious intentional crimes and for all crimes committed on behalf of or in execution of a decision of an organized criminal group.
The measures imposed for the protection of witnesses (see above) also apply to the protection of their descendants (children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren), ascendants (parents, grandparents, great-grandparents), brothers, sisters, spouse or persons with whom the witness is in a particularly close relationship. This is done with their consent or with the consent of their legal representatives.
Regardless of whether criminal proceedings have been initiated or not, the victim has the means of protection provided for in the Domestic Violence Protection Act (DVA).
This protection is carried out by applying to the district court at the victim's permanent or current address.
The deadline for submitting an application for protection is one month, counting from the date on which the act of violence was committed.
The application for protection can be submitted by:
The application is submitted to the relevant district court at the permanent or current address of the injured party.
The application is submitted in writing, not orally, and must contain:
After submitting the application for protection, the court has 24 hours to consider whether to issue an immediate protection order and to issue such, if the grounds for this are present, namely: there is a direct, immediate or consequential danger to the life or health of the injured person.
The order for immediate protection is served on the perpetrator through the police authorities. It is not subject to appeal. It is served on the parties and sent ex officio to the regional department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
After accepting the application, the court schedules the first hearing on the case within one month. In the process of proof, witness testimonies, written evidence, including statements by a psychologist are admissible.
After the case is concluded, the court issues its final decision, with which it may grant the application and issue a protection order (different from the order for immediate protection) or reject the application. If the application is granted, the court also imposes a fine of 200 to 1 000 leva on the perpetrator. The decision of the district court is subject to appeal before the relevant district court, whose decision is final.
Failure to comply with the protection order is a crime. In the event of violation of the order, the police must detain the perpetrator and notify the prosecutor's office.