On the unconstitutional provisions of the Law on amendments and supplements to the Criminal Code (prom. SG, No. 74 of 26 Sept. 2015)
Keywords:
unconstitutionality of the provision of Art. 79 (2) (2) of the CC, declared in Decision № 12 of 13 October 2016 of the Constitutional Court (prom. SG, No. 83/2016), prescription as a substantive criminal law institute extinguishing criminal liability, retroactivity of criminal lawAbstract
Para. 2 of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Code (prom. SG, No. 74 of 26 Sept. 2015) introduced the provision of Art. 79 (2) (2) of the Criminal Code (CC), which precludes extinguishment by prescription of criminal prosecution and enforcement of punishment for specific crimes committed within the period from 9 September 1944 to 10 November 1989 by members of the governing bodies of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The provision has been given retroactive effect. In its Decision No. 12 of 13 October 2016 (prom. SG, No. 83 of 2016), the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria declared certain provisions of this Law unconstitutional. The purpose of this article is to provide some notes on prescription as an institute of substantive criminal law and the retroactivity of criminal law through the prism of the unconstitutionality that has been declared.
