The Draft Act for Forfeiture of Property Acquired Through Criminal Activity was Rejected at First Reading

On July 8 the National Assembly put to the vote The Draft Act for Forfeiture of Property Acquired Through Criminal Activity and Administrative Violations. The project was rejected at first reading with 95 votes "against" 71 votes "for" and one abstention. One of the significant and controversial proposals was the concept of confiscation of property before an effective sentence is passed (see p. 49 of the Motives of the Project, in Bulgarian).

According to Art. 72 of the Rules of Parliament (in Bulgarian), a bill that was rejected on first reading may be re-introduced only after substantial changes in its main provisions, which are reflected in the motivation and not earlier than three months after its rejection.