The report summarizes the results of a comparative legal study carried out by a team of the Legal Programme of Open Society Institute – Sofia within Work Package 1 of the project Improving the Access to Legal Aid in the Pre-trial Phase of Criminal Proceedings in Bulgaria. The project was implemented in the period August 1, 2016 – January 31, 2018 in partnership with the National Legal Aid Bureau and Open Society Institute – Sofia, with the participation of the Dutch Legal Aid Board as an associated partner.
The project is funded under the 2014–2020 Justice Programme of the European Union and one of its main objectives is to facilitate the proper application and monitoring of Directive 2013/48/EU of 22 October 2013 on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and in European arrest warrant proceedings, and on the right to have a third party informed upon deprivation of liberty and to communicate with third persons and with consular authorities while deprived of liberty, of Directive 2016/1919/EU of 26 October 2016 on legal aid for suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings and for requested persons in European arrest warrant proceedings, as well as of Commission Recommendation 2013/С378/03 of 27 November 2013 on the right to legal aid for suspects or accused persons in criminal proceedings, and of Commission Recommendation 2013/С378/02 of 27 November 2013 on procedural safeguards for vulnerable persons suspected or accused in criminal proceedings.
Full text of the report on the comparative legal study Guaranteeing the Access to and the Quality of Legal Aid in the Pre-trail Phase of Criminal Proceedings (in Bulgarian).
