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Commission decides to refer BULGARIA to the Court for failing to correctly transpose rules on the right to information in criminal proceedings
Today, the European Commission decided to refer Bulgaria to the Court of Justice of the EU for failing to correctly transpose the Directive on Right to information in criminal proceedings (Directive 2012/13/EU). The deadline for Member States to transpose the Directive was 2 June 2014.
On 23 September 2021, the Commission sent a letter of formal notice to Bulgaria for failure to transpose the Directive correctly into its national law. On 28 September 2023, the Commission sent a reasoned opinion reiterating the grievances set out in the letter of formal notice.
Bulgaria has still not fully addressed the Commission's concerns such as the incorrect transposition of the scope of the Directive for persons who are de facto suspected of having committed a criminal offence but who have not yet been officially recognised as accused persons. This means that, in Bulgaria, persons who are only suspected and not yet officially accused of having committed a criminal offence do not enjoy the rights to which they are entitled under the Directive, which can significantly impact the fairness of their trial. This issue in turn affects the correct transposition of substantive rights set out in the Directive, such as the right to information about rights, which Bulgarian law does not extend to de facto suspects. While Bulgaria has taken first steps to address the identified grievances concerning the right to a Letter of Rights in European Arrest Warrant proceedings and the right of access to the materials of the case, the additional measures adopted are also not sufficient to ensure the correct transposition of these rights. The Commission has therefore decided to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the EU.
Background
The EU works to ensure that the basic rights of suspects and accused persons are protected. Common minimum standards are necessary for judicial decisions taken by one Member State to be recognised by the others. Much progress has been made to date, as the EU has adopted 6 directives on procedural rights for suspects and accused persons.
The EU established rules on the right to interpretation and translation with the Directive 2010/64/EU; on the right to information with the Directive 2012/13/EU; on the right to a lawyer with Directive 2013/48/EU; on the right to legal aid with the Directive (EU) 2016/1919; on the right to be presumed innocent and to be present in a trial with the Directive (EU) 2016/343; and with the Directive (EU) 2016/800 on special safeguards for children who are suspects or accused in criminal proceedings.
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