site.btaEuropean Commission Urges Bulgaria to Implement European Rules on Language Translation in Criminal Proceedings

The European Commission decided to send Wednesday a letter of formal notice to Bulgaria for failing to correctly transpose the Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings.

The Directive is one of six Directives adopted by the EU to create common minimum standards ensuring that the fair trial rights of suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings are sufficiently protected. It guarantees that suspects and accused persons who do not speak or understand the language of the criminal proceedings are provided without delay with interpretation, and with a written translation of essential documents.

The Commission considers that the Bulgarian national transposition measures fall short of the requirements of the Directive regarding the right to interpretation, the right to a written translation of essential documents and the scope of the Directive since under Bulgarian law, suspects not in detention do not benefit from the rights provided under the Directive.

Bulgaria now has two months to take the necessary measures to address the shortcomings identified by the Commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the Commission may decide to send a reasoned opinion.