site.btaProsecutor General Asks Constitutional Court to Interpret Issues Concerning Immunity, Investigability of President

ESD 11:57:01 27-01-2020
LG1204ES.105
105 CONSTITUTION - IMMUNITY - INTERPRETATION amplified

Prosecutor General Asks Constitutional Court
to Interpret Issues Concerning Immunity,
Investigability of President, Vice President


Sofia, January 27 (BTA) - Bulgaria's Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev has petitioned the Constitutional Court to interpret the constitutional provision on the immunity of the President and the Vice President of the Republic, the prosecution service reported on its website on Monday.

Article 103 of the Constitution states that "[t]he President and the Vice President shall not incur liability for any actions performed in the discharge of the functions thereof, with the exception of high treason and violation of the Constitution." Geshev asks how a balance between the public interest and the interest of the possible victims is achieved when, under the effective provision, the President and the Vice President are "absolutely inviolable".

The Prosecutor General's petition further asks the Constitutional Court to clarify three issues:
- Does the notion of "high treason" overlap with the criminal offences under Section I "Treason" of Chapter One "Offences against the Republic" of the Penal Code?
- What is the difference between the notions of "high treason" and "violation of the Constitution";
- Does the content of any of the notions of "high treason" and "offences against the Republic" include the commission of any offence other than those provided for in Section I "Treason" of Chapter One "Offences against the Republic" of the Penal Code and, if it does, which of the two, and are there any requirements regarding the type of offence?

Geshev also requests the Constitutional Court to interpret whether it is legally conforming to conduct checks and institute a criminal proceeding in connection with elements of a criminal offence committed by the President or the Vice President. The Prosecutor General points out that, in his opinion, the criminal prosecution must be stayed rather than terminated when it is undertaken against the public officials in question.

Later in the day, the Constitutional Court said on its website that it had instituted a case on the petition of Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev to provide a binding interpretation of Article 103 of the Constitution. NV/LG