Statute of limitations under the penal law of Bulgaria

Ukraine carries out intensive judicial cooperation in criminal matters with other European countries. A typical impediment to granting Ukrainian requests for such cooperation (e.g. extradition from another country, taking over Ukrainian criminal proceedings by the requested foreign country, recognition and enforcement of Ukrainian criminal judgments abroad) is the expiry of the time limitation period [lapse of time] not only under the Ukrainian law but also under the law of the foreign country that Ukraine requests for cooperation. The problem is that the criminal statute of limitations of most European countries is significantly different from the Ukrainian one. In view thereof, Ukrainian criminal lawyers are interested in having some general knowledge of the statute of limitations of other European countries, esp. such as Bulgaria. On the one hand, this foreign country has always been a steady partner of Ukraine in international judicial cooperation. On the other hand, the Bulgarian statute of limitations constitutes a good example of the different type of legal framework for lapse of time that requesting Ukrainian authorities shall necessarily consider. All penal laws of the contemporary Bulgarian state contained some statute of limitations. These laws are the 1896 Penal Law (repealed), the 1951 Penal Law upgraded to the 1956 Penal Code, after the full codification of this branch of law in Bulgaria (also repealed), and the existing Penal Code of 1968. The criminal statute of limitations outlines periods when competent state authorities have been inactive. The expiry of these periods (the lapse of time under law) extinguishes the immediate legal consequences of crimes or the punishments imposed by the court for them. In Bulgaria, the statute of limitations consists of substantive penal law provisions. This is a legislative recognition of its substantive nature. The concept that the criminal statute of limitation is a procedural legal institution has been overcome in Bulgarian theory, law and judicial practice. The statute of limitations produces procedural consequences also but they derive from its direct substantive law results as secondary effects. As in most other countries, the penal law of Bulgaria prescribes two types of limitation periods. The first one runs after the commission of the offence. It is also called 'limitation of the offence'; its expiry entails the extinction of the offender’s criminal liability preventing both the imposition of punishment on him/her and his/her conviction status as well. The second type of limitation period occurs after the imposition of an executable punishment. It is also called 'limitation of the punishment'; its expiry entails the extinction of the punishment imposed only. It does not eliminate the fact that the offender has been convicted. Under the Bulgarian Penal Code, each of the two types of statute of limitations includes not only general time limitations but also absolute ones as well. The former is applicable when the competent state authorities have not undertaken required activities whereas the latter applies only if the competent state authorities have failed to achieve a required result, namely: the imposition of punishment on the offender or the execution of his/her punishment.

COVID-19 Crisis as the New-State-of-the-Art in the Crimmigration Milieu

The concept of crimmigration connotes the currently prevailing approach between the different fields of penal, administrative and migration laws. It seems that, progressively, there is an amalgamation of penal law practices with those of civil and administrative law processes in a way creating confusion as to the boundaries of each law discipline and rational. In addition, the protection of public health from COVID-19 interrelates with the above three fields of law while at the same time the measures undertaken for the confrontation of the pandemic are further strengthening the social controls already imposed towards the migrant-refugee populations. Based on the Greek experience, we are particularly interested in mixed migration flows’ status of a ‘prolonged reception’. We have decided to examine the cases of the ‘asylum-seeker’ population and the ‘undocumented’ population who, to a large extent, constitute a large unseen category for the national vaccine program implemented to combat the COVID-19 hygiene crisis. The basic idea supported by our present study is that the health field is used as an additive component to crimmigration as it helps the establishment of a concrete screening intensifying the already imposed migration controls. In addition, the official social controls imposed to combat the COVD-19 health crisis contribute to crimmigration through the intensification of the dangerization of mixed migration flows. Currently, the health field, affected by COVID-19, contributes to the intensification of the crimmigration regime and at the same time to a dangerous cul-de-sac.

Animal Protection in Hungary: A Multilayer System Based on an Administrative Approach

Animal protection has a long tradition in the Hungarian legal system. It can be interpreted as a multi-layer model, but the major approach of animal protection has an administrative nature. Originally, animal protection was interpreted as protecting farm animals as resources. Even though new layers have been evolved, the agricultural-administrative approach remained. The second layer is based on the protection of health and healthy nature. Animals are even protected as part of the natural environment and ecosystem and their protection is part of securing the biodiversity in Hungary. Although animal cruelty is a criminal offense in Hungary, the penal law approach is consistent with administrative law as it is based on the institutional protection of the fundamental right to health and a healthy environment. The law acknowledges that animals are capable of feeling, of suffering. However, animal protection stems from the state’s objective – subjectless – duty to protect the environment and humans’ living conditions. Its ultimate aim is to protect humans.

Principles of Penal Law: Content and Legal Regulation Issues

The article contains a scientific and theoretical analysis of the points of view presented in the scientific literature regarding the content and list of principles of penal law. We consider proposals on the inclusion of new principles in the penal enforcement legislation, and on modification or exclusion of existing ones. We substantiate the need to ensure comprehensive execution of criminal punishment, providing for active participation of convicts in reformation and social rehabilitation programs and adding the pedagogical (social rehabilitation) content to the process of execution of punishment. We propose to supplement penal enforcement legislation with legal mechanisms to mitigate the situation of convicts, taking into account their personal characteristics, without waiting for the final stage of execution of the sentence associated with the preparation for release.

“Progressive” Criminalization? A Sociological and Criminological Analysis Based on the German “No Means No” Provision

The “no means no” model has been applied in Germany since November 10, 2016. Its introduction has considerably extended the scope of criminalized forms of sexual interaction. This Article examines the criminal policy discourse that gave rise to it and the question of whether the new provisions have led to the changes in the practices of criminal prosecution proclaimed in advance. The results will be critically assessed. The new legislation relating to sexual offenses was also shaped on the initiative of groups perceiving themselves as emancipatory, and in the understanding of these groups, the “no means no” provision acts as “progressive” criminalization. Yet, aside from the fact that the associated expectations have hardly been met as of yet, this movement would have to resolve an essential question: Is penal law compatible with a “progressive” social policy they claim to stand for at all, and if so, what conditions does it have to meet?

If crime novels were actual criminal cases

The current article aims to present a hypothetical review of some legal omissions in selected, reader-favorite crime novels. The material is based on legal principles which are common to states governed by the rule of law, and it would be useful to students of law and other academic courses. The presented cases in works of fiction have been analyzed from the standpoint of the acting Bulgarian penal law and Criminal Procedure Code.

The Legal Implications of Korean Sports Violence

Korean national laws may have limited application in the sports sector. Sports rules that restrain government intervention have allowed organizations to exercise power as autonomous and private sectors at the global level (Kim, 2011). Despite these constraints, certain issues, including criminal problems, economic interests, and bodily integrity in sports, sometimes call for intervention from judicial powers (Park, 2016). As it is impossible to completely avoid physical contact in team sports games, acts of violence that have high chances of harming others naturally take place during games and competitive events. Thus, this paper seeks to define whether violence in sports is subject to criminal prosecution. After a descriptive exploration of pre-existing studies through a systematic literature review, qualitative research was conducted to examine the precedents in accordance with legal transition and flow. Legal concepts in Korea were first established, and key points of previous works and studies were examined thoroughly (Sohn, 2011). It is critical to judge the intentionality of such actions for a legal interpretation to see whether they can be deemed offensive (Sohn, 2011). As the concept of violence is defined as a physical assault on bodies, illegally exercised physical coercion, and invasion of other people’s bodies, thus validating such action as a crime, the benefit and protection of law to be honored in such incidents are bodily integrity and its physiological functions (Oh, 2019). In order to decide criminality under penal law, each case consists of the “component validity-illegality-obligation” (Yeon et al., 2018).

From criminal principiology to the right to intimacy as a constitutional guarantee

The current text presents an initial reflection on the importance of the Penal Law and its principles, expressed or implicit in a positivistic perspective. They should be understood as informants of all the juridical order with the capacity to ascertain the validity under constitutional class rules, occupying, in this way, a hierarchically superior place. It will also be considered, the bond between Penal Law and the recognition of the principle of the dignity of the human person, especially regarding the right to intimacy. The technique used to the bibliography