Article 1

Criminal Code
Publication State Gazette No. 26/02.04.1968, in force as of 01.05.1968,
Last Amendment - SG No. 83/21.10.2016
GENERAL PART Chapter One
OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE OF APPLICATION OF THE CRIMINAL CODE
Section I
Objective of the Criminal Code Article 1 (1) (Amended, SG No. 1/1991) The objective of the Criminal Code shall be to
protect the person and rights of citizens and the whole legal order
established in this country against criminal encroachments.
(2) For achievement of this objective the Criminal Code shall determine
which acts dangerous to society constitute crimes and what punishments
shall be imposed for them, and shall specify the cases where instead of
punishment measures for social influence and education may be imposed. Section II Scope of application of the Criminal Code
Article 2
(1) To each crime applied shall be that law, which was in force at the time
of its perpetration.
(2) If by the entry of the sentence into force different laws are issued,
that law shall be applied which is most favourable for the perpetrator. Article 3 (1) The Criminal Code shall apply to all crimes committed on the territory
of the Republic of Bulgaria.
(2) The issue of liability of foreign citizens who enjoy immunity with
respect to the penal jurisdiction of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be
decided in compliance with the norms of international law adopted thereby. Article 4 (1) The Criminal Code shall apply to the Bulgarian citizens also for crimes
committed by them abroad.
(2) (Amended, SG No. 75/2006) No citizen of the Republic of Bulgaria can be
transferred to another state or an international court of justice for the
purposes of prosecution, unless this has been provided for in an
international agreement, which has been ratified, published and entered
into force in respect to the Republic of Bulgaria. Article 5 The Criminal Code shall also apply to foreign citizens who have committed
crimes of general nature abroad, whereby the interests of the Republic of
Bulgaria or of Bulgarian citizens have been affected. Article 6 (1) The Criminal Code shall also apply to foreign citizens who have
committed abroad crimes against peace and humanity, whereby the interests
of another state or foreign citizens have been affected.
(2) The Criminal Code shall also apply to other crimes committed by foreign
citizens abroad, where this is stipulated in an international agreement, to
which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party. Article 7 In the cases of Articles 4 and 5 the pre-trial detention and the punishment
served abroad shall be deducted. Where the two punishments are different in
kind, the punishment served abroad shall be taken into consideration in
determining the punishment by the court. Article 8
(Last Amendment - SG No. 33/2011, in force as of 27.05.2011) (1) (Former text of Art. 8 - SG No. 33/2011, in force as of 27.05.2011) The
sentence of a foreign court for a crime to which the Bulgarian Criminal
Code is applicable shall be taken into consideration in the cases specified
in an international agreement to which the Republic of Bulgaria is a party.
(2) (New - SG No. 33/2011 in force as of 27.05.2011) Any effective verdict
that has been issued in another European Union Member State for an act
which represents a crime under the Bulgarian Penal Code shall be taken into
account during any criminal proceeding led against the same person in the
Republic of Bulgaria. Chapter Two CRIME
Section I
General Provisions
Article 9
(1) Crime shall be an act dangerous to society (action or inaction), which
has been culpably committed and which has been declared punishable by law.
(2) Criminal shall not be an act which, although formally containing the
elements of crime provided by law, because of its insignificance is not
dangerous to society or its danger to society is obviously insignificant. Article 10 (Amended, SG No. 50/1995)
Dangerous to society shall be an act which threatens or harms the person,
the rights of the citizens, the property, the legal order established by
the Constitution in the Republic of Bulgaria or other interests, protected
by the legal system. Article 11 (1) An act dangerous to society shall be considered culpably committed
where it is intentional or committed through negligence.
(2) An act shall be considered intentional where its perpetrator was
conscious its nature of dangerous to society, foresaw its consequences as
dangerous to society and wished or allowed the occurrence of such
consequences.
(3) An act shall be considered committed through negligence where the
perpetrator did not foresee the occurrence of consequences dangerous to
society, but was obliged to and could foresee them, or where he foresaw the
occurrence of such consequences but intended to avert them.
(4) Acts committed through negligence shall be punishable only in the cases
provided by law.
(5) Where the law qualifies an act as aggravated crime due to the
occurrence of additional consequences dangerous to society, if no intent is
required for such consequences the perpetrator shall be held responsible
for aggravated crime where he has acted with negligence with regard to
those consequences. Article 12 (1) An act shall be considered not dangerous to society where it has been
committed in situation of inevitable defence against immediate unlawful
attack on state or public interests, on the person or the rights of the
person defending himself or of another person, by inflicting harm on the
attacker within the framework of the necessary limits.
(2) The limits of inevitable self-defence shall be considered exceeded
where the defence obviously did not compare to the nature and danger of the
attack.
(3) (New, SG No. 62/1997, amended, SG No. 120/1997, SG No. 75/2006) The
limits of inevitable defence shall not be considered exceeded where the
attack took place through violent penetration into premises or through
violent housebreaking.
(4) (Amended, SG No. 28/1982, renumbered from Paragraph (3), SG No.
62/1997) The acting person shall not be punishable if he has committed the
act of exceeding the limits of inevitable self-defence due to fright or
confusion. Article 12a (New, SG No. 62/1997)
(1) It shall not be considered dangerous to society if damages are
inflicted on a person who has committed a crime, where this occurs in the
course of detention of such person for his/her delivery to the authorities
and for prevention of opportunities for committing another crime, provided
there is no other way to detain such person and provided the necessary
lawful measures have not been exceeded.
(2) The necessary lawful measures for detention of a person who has
committed a crime shall be considered exceeded in the case of obvious
discrepancy between the nature and the degree of public danger of the crime
committed by the person detained, and the circumstances of detention, as
well as where obviously excessive damages are inflicted on the person
without necessity. In such cases penal responsibility shall be sought only
in the event of deliberately inflicted damages. Article 12b
(New, SG No. 32/2010 , in force since 28.05.2010)

An act is not considered socially harmful if it is committed by a person
who has acted as an officer undercover in accordance with the powers
prescribed to him by law.
Article 13 (1) An act shall be considered not dangerous to society where committed by
a person in situation of emergency - in order to save state or public
interests, as well as personal or property rights belonging to him or to
others, from immediate danger which the acting person could not possibly
avert in another way, provided the damages caused by the act are less
significant than those averted.
(2) There shall be no situation of emergency where the evading of danger
itself constitutes a crime. Article 13a (New, SG No. 28/1982)
(1) An act shall be considered not dangerous to society where committed
under justified economic risk - in order to achieve substantial results for
the benefit of society or to avoid considerable damages, provided it is not
counter to explicit ban established by normative act, complies to the
modern scientific and technical achievements and experience, does not
endanger the life and health of another, and if the acting person has done
everything within his capacity to avert the occurrence of the harmful
consequences.
(2) In deciding the issue whether the risk was justified, taken into
consideration must also be the correlation between the expected positive
result and the ev