In the summer of 2023, the People's assembly adopted changes to the Criminal Code, which allowed the confiscation of cars of drunk and drugged drivers.
About eight months later, the judges of the Supreme Court of Cassation (SCC) published an opinion in which they defined these penal texts as unconstitutional. They appeal to the Constitutional Court with a request to cancel the confiscation of a vehicle or to impose a fine equal to the value of the vehicle when it is not owned by the perpetrator of the crime.
„Even if this constitutional case is initiated, even if the request is considered, even if the Constitutional Court declares these texts unconstitutional, the decision of the Constitutional Court is effective only for the future. The texts will not be applied from the moment they are enacted”, he explained in the program “This Morning” lawyer Silvia Petkova.
According to lawyer Petkova, the problem with the drug test samples is still there.
„Samples continue to not come out quickly. In the event that a driver takes a police field test and it comes out positive, and the driver has not used drugs, the driver is detained, his driver's license is revoked, license plates are removed even if the car is not owned by the driver, who tested positive. Even at this stage, cars are seized, which is illegal. The measure of “forfeiture”, which is different from “confiscation”, is intended to be applied with a conviction. This is done by the court when it admits that this person is guilty and that he was driving after using narcotic substances, but for this purpose we must also have the results of the blood test, Petkova also said.
„People's cars that are repossessed will remain repossessed because it was done within the framework of an existing law that was not declared unconstitutional,” she added.
„The measure as such is necessary. Society is adamant that there should be no forgiveness and no light punishments for such acts. Another issue is that when such measures are introduced, they are at the suggestion of the Ministry of the Interior or transport, after which it turns out that they are legally unsupported”, commented road expert Krasimir Georgiev.
„We listened to the Ministry of Internal Affairs – sanctions, sanctions, sanctions and fines, and the results are getting worse. I would ask one question – we test the offenders, we find that they have used drugs or alcohol, we impound their vehicle, but what happens when we test the police officers? The test was invalid. Let's clarify – is the test only valid for police officers or all citizens of this country? For me, to put it mildly, these are misunderstandings that happen in the courtroom, he stressed.