At an extraordinary meeting on Monday, convened by an order of National Assembly Chair Rosen Zhelyazkov, the deputies will discuss changes to the Penal Code and the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act at first reading.
Also on the agenda is a new discussion of amendments to the Judicial System Act, which President Rumen Radev vetoed.
At the beginning of last week, after outrage regarding a case of an injured 18-year-old girl from Stara Zagora, the parliamentary groups of GERB-UDF, Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms introduced two joint bills - for changes to the Penal Code and the the Protection Against Domestic Violence Act.
At an extraordinary meeting last Thursday, they were discussed and voted on by the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs.
The Committee accepted an increase in the penalties for causing moderate and minor bodily injury. The general bill for changes to the Penal Code stipulates that a perpetrator of medium bodily harm shall be punished with up to 8 years in prison. Currently, the penalty is up to 6 years in prison. It is proposed that probation be dropped in case of minor bodily injury, and that the fine be increased from BGN 500 to BGN 1,000.
The fact that domestic violence is now punishable not only in marriage or civil partnerships, but also in an intimate relationship, is recorded in the amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure
According to data from the Interior Ministry, in the first 6 months of this year, 1,950 orders for protection against domestic violence were issued. Of these, 647 were orders for permanent protection, and 1,303 - for immediate protection, according to the summary data collected and processed by the General Directorate of the National Police. Pre-trial proceedings for crimes committed in the context of domestic violence have increased by 40%. For the first six months of the year, they were 596, compared to 426 for the same period last year. Just in June, 35 cases of domestic violence were recorded.
Last year, there were 736 identified cases of domestic violence, of which 10 against persons with disabilities, 188 women, six men and 542 children, shows a draft report on gender equality in Bulgaria for 2022, prepared by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy.
Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva also submitted last week to the National Assembly a proposal to criminalize cases of violations of human dignity, torture and inhuman treatment.
At its extraordinary meeting, the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs overrode the President's veto on changes to the Judiciary Act. The people's representatives did not debate the motives of the head of State. There will also be a vote in the plenary hall.
On August 1, Rumen Radev signed a decree by which he returned for a new discussion in the National Assembly amendments to the Judicial System Act, adopted on July 21, which change the system of random selection of a judge under the mechanism for the investigation of the main prosecutor and an additional six-month term is set for the election of a new composition of the Supreme Judicial Council. In his reasons, Radev pointed out that this law does not contribute to lasting and effective reforms in the justice system.
A civil protest, titleд "Not Even One More: Changes to the Law Now!" was held in front of the National Assembly on Monday morning. The protesters are demanding changes to the Penal Code. The demonstration is organized on Facebook by the Feminist Mobilizations collective.
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