site.btaEuropean Investigation Order Act Amended on First Reading

Draft amendments to the European Investigation Order Act, moved by the Council of Ministers, were adopted by the National Assembly on first reading on Thursday.

If passed conclusively, the amendments will allow the Bulgarian judicial authorities to provide more relevant justification for issuing and implementing European investigation orders as an instrument for judicial cooperation in criminal matters. The aim is to align national law with judgments by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) dated November 11, 2021, and December 16, 2021.

According to CJEU's interpretation, Bulgarian law lacked mechanisms for affected persons to challenge in a court in the issuing country the substantive legal grounds for issuing a European investigation order and the lawfulness and the need to collect evidence, and to claim damages if they find that these actions were ordered or implemented unlawfully.

The proposed revisions will remove the practical hurdles for Bulgarian judicial bodies to issue or implement European investigation orders as an instrument for judicial cooperation in criminal matters based on the mutual recognition of sentences and judicial decisions.