Is the Third Cassation in Criminal Cases Final? (On the Illegal Judicial Panel and the Prohibition under Art. 354(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code on Returning the Case for Reconsideration)

Authors:

Pages: 257-272
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/BZYD3290

Abstract:

The article examines the relationship between the grounds for annulment of a vedict – the fact that it has been issued by an illegal court panel, and the 2011 changes in the Bulgarian Criminal Procedure Code, prohibiting the Court of Cassation to return the case for a retrial when cassation proceedings are held for the third time. These legislative changes aim at speeding up the trial phase and at putting an end to the existing practice of repeatedly overturning the verdict by the Supreme Court of Cassation and of returning the case to lower courts. For achieving this goal, the legislator has expanded the procedural options of the Supreme Court, granting it appellate powers in the third cassation proceedings. The article examines whether the goal of limiting the cassation proceedings in the same case to a maximum of three is achieved, or whether there are exceptions to the rule when the reviewed verdict is issued by an illegal judicial panel.

Keywords:

illegal judicial panel; third cassation; Court of Cassation; cassation proceedings; appellate powers; cassation powers; substantial procedural violations.

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