Rehabilitation following a criminal conviction

The rehabilitation period under Article 88a of the Bulgarian Criminal Code begins when the sentence has been served, including where its duration has been reduced through work or a pardon. Full rehabilitation requires that, during the period under Article 88a(1) read with Article 82(1), or under Article 88a(2), the convicted person has committed no further publicly prosecutable offence punishable by imprisonment. Full rehabilitation can expunge the consequences of convictions for several offences, whether they qualify for a single aggregate sentence (and thus count as a single conviction), the sentences are to be combined under Article 27 of the Criminal Code, or they must be served separately. In this situation the periods under Article 88a(1) read with Article 82(1) and under Article 88a(2), which vary with the sentences imposed, must have expired for all the convictions concerned without the person committing a further publicly prosecutable offence punishable by imprisonment during those periods. Thus, in the case discussed, reliance on Article 88a required more than 10 years to have elapsed between completion of the last sentence served and commission of the new offence for which a suspended sentence was sought on the basis of full rehabilitation. See Supreme Court of Cassation Judgment No. 44 of 28 January 2010 in criminal case No. 505/2009, Second Criminal Division.

If you have questions about rehabilitation, consult a lawyer practising in criminal law.