Fines for driving after using alcohol and drugs are increasing

Key amendments to the Criminal Code, which increase fines for driving after using alcohol and drugs, criminalize the sale of laughing gas to minors, unify the regime for active and passive bribery of a local and foreign official, regulate the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism, and increase sanctions for sadism over animals as a business, were finally adopted by the National Assembly. The amendments are based on proposals by the Ministry of Justice and deputies from the ruling majority.

„Today we have shown the clear will of both the state and society for stricter penalties for driving after using alcohol and drugs. We are significantly increasing the fines for those drivers whose behavior creates a real threat to the life and health of citizens. We have adopted key amendments to remove Bulgaria from "gray list" for money laundering and we have given a legislative response to sadism over animals, which is used as a business. I thank the members of parliament for their support and constructive work," said the Minister of Justice.

The main changes in the Criminal Code are:

• The regime of criminal liability for active and passive bribery of a local and foreign official is being unified, including qualified cases. Any use of the official's position, regardless of whether it falls within the direct competence of the employee or outside it, for which the person has requested or accepted an undue gift or benefit, or has accepted a promise of a gift or benefit, will be a crime. The requirement for the official's prior consent for the bribe to be promised, offered or given for the benefit of third parties is being deleted, and the request or acceptance of a gift or benefit will be a crime not only for the official, but also for any other person.

• A new chapter “Terrorism” is being created in the Criminal Code, which covers all crimes of a terrorist nature. The first section covers the actual terrorist crimes, criminalizing the terrorist acts themselves. The second section regulates the non-actual terrorist crimes, which refer to earlier preparatory stages, accompanying and supporting activities, as well as events related to the threat of terrorism.

Amendments and supplements to the Law on Administrative Violations and Punishments regulate for the first time the possibility of initiating proceedings to realize the liability of a legal entity created or used for terrorism, money laundering or for a crime committed on behalf of or in execution of a decision of organized crime. In these cases, administrative criminal liability will be sought from legal entities even when there is no benefit from the crime committed.

The amount of the envisaged pecuniary sanctions for legal entities is differentiated in accordance with the amount of the benefit received. For the first time in the area of liability of legal entities for a crime committed, the possibility is provided for the court to impose additional non-pecuniary sanctions on the legal entity. These include: a temporary ban on participation in procedures for awarding public contracts or concessions; a temporary ban on participation in procedures for receiving EU funds; a temporary ban on receiving tax breaks, subsidies and grants from the state or municipal budget. These sanctions can last from one to three years.

For the first time in Bulgarian criminal procedure law, the principle is introduced that the liability of a legal entity for a crime committed (terrorism, preparation for terrorism, money laundering, drug trafficking, kidnapping and unlawful deprivation of liberty, management and participation in organized crime, embezzlement, crimes against the equality of citizens, confessions, intellectual property, etc. explicitly listed) will be implemented within the framework of criminal proceedings conducted against the individual accused of the crime committed, whenever possible. The procedural figure of the interested legal entity is introduced, which is represented by a trustee, and in some cases by a special representative - a lawyer. Legal guarantees are created for an equal ruling regarding the guilt and liability of the accused individual and the liability of the legal entity.

With these changes, the Criminal Code is brought into full compliance with numerous international and European standards in the field of countering terrorism and terrorist financing. Recommendations of the MONEYVAL Committee of the Council of Europe and FATF requirements for Bulgaria to leave the “grey list“ are implemented. The measures are also key for assessing Bulgaria's readiness for OECD membership. Convictions against our country, ruled by the Court of Justice of the EU, are also taken into account.

• The sanctions for animal torture are increased and new, more severely punishable elements of the crime are created - when the act was filmed for the purpose of distribution or was committed for the purpose of material gain. The punishment for “sadism as a business“ is imprisonment from three to ten years and a fine from five thousand to twenty thousand leva.

• The minimum penalty for the crime of “insult“ is reduced from one thousand to five hundred leva, and the minimum penalty for the crime of “defamation“ from three thousand to one thousand leva. This completes the legislative reform that began in 2023 in implementation of a series of judgments against Bulgaria issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for violations of freedom of expression.

• Fines for driving after using alcohol or drugs, without a traffic accident, are increased by 2.5 to 7 times. The penalties for imprisonment in these cases remain unchanged. For driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of over 1.2 per mille, in addition to imprisonment, the convicted person will also pay a fine of one thousand to five thousand leva (currently it is from two hundred to one thousand leva). The same fine will apply for driving after using drugs. And getting behind the wheel with over 0.5 per mille of alcohol in the blood with a valid conviction for drunk driving will cost the perpetrator from two thousand to ten thousand leva (currently from five hundred to one thousand and five hundred leva), etc.

The Minister of Justice also supported the proposal of deputies to make the sale of laughing gas to minors and to those who do not understand the nature and significance of their actions a crime, as well as to increase the sanctions for the sale of alcohol and tobacco products to such persons. Increased sanctions are also foreseen in cases of systematic commission of such acts.