Legislative changes to the CCP, the CPC, the PPC and the Emergency Measures Act

Legislative changes to the CCP, the CPC, the PPC and the Emergency Measures Act

During the week, the State Gazette promulgated important amendments to the Civil, Administrative and Criminal Procedure Codes, as well as to the Law on Measures and Actions during the State of Emergency, adopted by a decision of the National Assembly on 13 March 2020. The situation with the increasing spread of COVID-19 has provoked and mobilized the legislator to adopt long-delayed reforms to procedural laws.

It is right to first turn our attention to the reconstructions in the most recent normative act, which we will call for short the Law on Measures during the State of Emergency. The amendments to the law allow, during the epidemic situation and for two months after its lifting, open court hearings to be held remotely, ensuring direct and virtual participation of the parties and participants in the process. It is the duty of the court to notify the parties of the manner in which the hearing will take place. Additional powers of the administrative heads of the courts are also provided for - to adjourn proceedings to new dates, and to order that no public hearings be held for a period not exceeding 14 days.

Of great practical importance is the possibility that during an epidemic emergency, all communications and papers can be served electronically if the party so requests. Service will be deemed to have been effected from the day of sending of the acknowledgement of receipt of the communication, but if this is not done within 3 days, service will be resorted to under the general procedure.

One more thing, the parties and their representatives will be able to rely on a postponement of the hearing by order of the court if they are placed under quarantine, isolation or for other reasons related to COVID-19, but it is necessary to submit within 7 days after the reason for their non-appearance ceases to exist relevant evidence.

The overhaul of procedural laws is in the same spirit. A unified concept of videoconferencing is introduced in the CPC, the CPC and the CCP - "a communication link through a technical means for simultaneous transmission and reception of images and sound between participants in a trial located in different places, allowing recording and storage of the information on an electronic medium".Any party will be able to request to participate in a hearing by videoconference when unable to appear in person in a courtroom. The court is obliged to inform the parties of the conditions that must be in place for the videoconference to take place. A facilitated process is also provided for the taking of evidence, again by videoconference, at the request of a party or the court when an expert needs to be heard. It will be permissible to question witnesses by remote means where their appearance in court is difficult or they are outside the judicial district of the district court whose seat coincides with the seat of the case. Experts shall also be heard in cases where, due to work commitments or other objective circumstances, they cannot appear before the court.

In the Administrative Procedure Code, interpretation can be done by videoconference for persons who do not speak Bulgarian and who use an interpreter. This will also apply to persons who have been assigned an interpreter. The new rules also introduce videoconferencing as an option for persons with an address other than the one where the proceedings take place and who are summoned by an administrative authority to provide explanations or clarifications. In a case where an administrative act is contested, the hearing of the interested parties may again be held by videoconference. Last but not least, the possibility of taking evidence, testifying and hearing experts under the procedure of the Civil Procedure Code is also provided for in the APC.

Videoconferencing is also provided for pre-trial proceedings in the case of pre-trial detention and the possibility of the accused to participate in the proceedings by videoconferencing, but only with his consent and in cases where he does not wish to appear or health reasons prevent his participation in the hearing, as well as during interrogation, during eyewitness confrontation, when the accused is outside the country, during identification, during consideration of an application for early release of the accused.

The preparation of a proper protocol immediately after a videoconference in the proceedings, together with the participants' data, and the creation of a video record that is stored, ensures the reliability of the use of videoconferencing. The changes made to the laws to which we have drawn attention above will greatly facilitate legal proceedings not only during the pandemic caused by COVID-19, but also after its end, which we believe will be soon.