Bulgaria 1991 Constitution (reviewed 2015) - Page 2 of 14

Chapter II. Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens

Article 25

A Bulgarian citizen shall be anyone born of at least one parent holding a Bulgarian citizenship, or born on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, should he not be entitled to any other citizenship by virtue of origin. Bulgarian citizenship shall further be acquirable through naturalization.
A citizen of Bulgarian origin shall acquire Bulgarian citizenship through a facilitated procedure.
No one shall be deprived of Bulgarian citizenship acquired by birth.
No Bulgarian citizen may be surrendered to another State or to an international tribunal for the purposes of criminal prosecution, unless the opposite is provided for by international treaty that has been ratified, published and entered into force for the Republic of Bulgaria.
Any Bulgarian citizen abroad shall be accorded the protection of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The conditions and procedure for the acquiring, preservation or loss of Bulgarian citizenship shall be established by law.

Article 26

Irrespective of where they are, all citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria shall be vested with all rights and duties proceeding from this Constitution.
Foreigners residing in the Republic of Bulgaria shall be vested with all rights and obligations proceeding from this Constitution, except those rights and duties for which Bulgarian citizenship is required by this Constitution or by another law.

Article 27

Foreigners residing legally in the country shall not be expelled or extradited to another State against their will, except in accordance with the provisions and the procedures established by law.
The Republic of Bulgaria shall grant asylum to foreigners persecuted for their opinions or activity in the defence of internationally recognized rights and freedoms.
The conditions and procedure for the granting of asylum shall be established by law.

Article 28

Everyone shall have the right to life. Any attempt upon a human life shall be punished as a most severe crime.

Article 29

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or to forcible assimilation.
No one shall be subjected to medical, scientific or other experimentation without his voluntary written consent.

Article 30

Everyone shall be entitled to personal freedom and inviolability.
No one shall be detained or subjected to inspection, search or any other infringement of his personal inviolability except on the conditions and in a manner established by law.
The State authorities shall be free to detain citizens only in the urgent circumstances expressly stipulated by law, and shall immediately advise the judicial authorities accordingly. The judicial authorities shall rule on the legality of a detention within the next 24 hours.
Everyone shall be entitled to legal counsel from the moment of detention or from the moment of being charged.
Everyone shall be entitled to meet his legal counsel in private. The confidentiality of such communication shall be inviolable.

Article 31

Anyone charged with a crime shall be brought before a court within the time established by law.
No one shall be forced to plead guilty, and no one shall be convicted solely by virtue of confession.
A defendant shall be considered innocent until proven otherwise by a final verdict.
The rights of a defendant shall not be restricted beyond what is necessary for the purposes of a fair trial.
Prisoners shall be kept in conditions conducive to the exercise of those of their fundamental rights which are not restricted by virtue of their sentence.
Prison sentences shall be served only at the facilities established by law.
There shall be no limitation to the prosecution and the execution of a sentence for crimes against peace and humanity.

Article 32

The privacy of citizens shall be inviolable. Everyone shall be entitled to protection against any unlawful interference in his private or family affairs and against encroachments on his honour, dignity and reputation.
No one shall be followed, photographed, filmed, recorded or subjected to any other similar activity without his knowledge or despite his express disapproval, except when such actions are permitted by law.

Article 33

The home shall be inviolable. No one shall enter or stay inside a home without its occupant’s consent, except in the cases expressly stipulated by law.
Entry or stay inside a home without the consent of its occupant or without the judicial authorities’ permission shall be allowed only for the purposes of preventing an immediately impending crime or a crime in progress, for the capture of a criminal, or in extreme necessity.

Article 34

The freedom and confidentiality of correspondence and all other communications shall be inviolable.
Exceptions to this provision shall be allowed only with the permission of the judicial authorities for the purpose of discovering or preventing a grave crime.

Article 35

Everyone shall be free to choose a place of residence and shall have the right to freedom of movement in the territory of the country and to leave the country. This right shall be restricted only by virtue of law in the name of national security, public health, and the rights and freedoms of other citizens.
Every Bulgarian citizen shall have the right to return to the country.

Article 36

The study and use of the Bulgarian language shall be a right and an obligation of every Bulgarian citizen.
Citizens whose mother tongue is not Bulgarian shall have the right to study and use their own language alongside the compulsory study of the Bulgarian language.
The situations in which only the official language shall be used shall be established by law.

Article 37

The freedom of conscience, the freedom of thought and the choice of religion and of religious or atheistic views shall be inviolable. The State shall assist the maintenance of tolerance and respect among the believers from different denominations, and among believers and non-believers.
The freedom of conscience and religion shall not be practised to the detriment of national security, public order, public health and morals, or of the rights and freedoms of others.

Article 38

No one shall be persecuted or restricted in his rights because of his views, nor shall be obligated or forced to provide information about his own or another person’s views.

Article 39

Everyone shall be entitled to express an opinion or to publicize it through words, written or oral, sound or image, or in any other way.
This right shall not be used to the detriment of the rights and reputation of others, or for the incitement of a forcible change of the constitutionally established order, the perpetration of a crime, or the incitement of enmity or violence against anyone.

Article 40

The press and the other mass information media shall be free and shall not be subjected to censorship.
An injunction on or a confiscation of printed matter or another information medium shall be allowed only through an act of the judicial authorities in the case of an encroachment on public decency or incitement of a forcible change of the constitutionally established order, the perpetration of a crime, or the incitement of violence against anyone. An injunction suspension shall lose force if not followed by a confiscation within 24 hours.

Article 41

Everyone shall be entitled to seek, obtain and disseminate information. This right shall not be exercised to the detriment of the rights and reputation of others, or to the detriment of national security, public order, public health and morality.
Everyone shall be entitled to obtain information from state bodies and agencies on any matter of legitimate interest to them which is not a state or official secret and does not affect the rights of others.

Article 42

Every citizen above the age of 18, with the exception of those placed under judicial interdiction or serving a prison sentence, shall be free to elect state and local authorities and vote in referendums.
The organization and procedure for the holding of elections and referendums shall be established by law.
The elections for Members of the European Parliament and the participation of European Union citizens in the elections for local authorities shall be regulated by law.

Article 43

All citizens shall have the right to peaceful and unarmed assembly for meetings and demonstrations.
The procedure for the organizing and holding of meetings and demonstrations shall be established by law.
No notice to the municipal authorities shall be required for meetings held indoors.

Article 44

All citizens shall be free to associate.
The organization/s activity shall not be contrary to the country’s sovereignty and national integrity, or the unity of the nation, nor shall it incite racial, national, ethnic or religious enmity or an encroachment on the rights and freedoms of citizens; no organization shall establish clandestine or paramilitary structures or shall seek to attain its aims through violence.
The law shall establish which organizations shall be subject to registration, the procedure for their termination, and their relationships with the State.

Article 45

All citizens shall have the right to lodge complaints, proposals and petitions with the state authorities.

Article 46

Matrimony shall be a free union between a man and a woman. Only a civil marriage shall be legal.
Spouses shall have equal rights and obligations in matrimony and the family.
The form of a marriage, the conditions and procedure for its conclusion and termination, and all private and material relations between the spouses shall be established by law.

Article 47

The raising and upbringing of children until they come of legal age shall be a right and obligation of their parents and shall be assisted by the State.
Mothers shall be the object of special protection on the part of the State and shall be guaranteed prenatal and postnatal leave, free obstetric care, alleviated working conditions and other social assistance.
Children born out of wedlock shall enjoy equal rights with those born in wedlock.
Abandoned children shall enjoy the protection of the State and society.
The conditions and procedure for the restriction or suspension of parental rights shall be established by law.

Article 48

Citizens shall have the right to work. The State shall take care to provide conditions for the exercising of this right.
The State shall create conditions conducive to the exercising of the right to work by the physically or mentally handicapped.
Everyone shall be free to choose an occupation and place of work.
No one shall be compelled to do forced labour.
Workers and employees shall be entitled to healthy and non-hazardous working conditions, to guaranteed minimum pay and remuneration for the actual work performed, and to rest and leave, in accordance with conditions and procedures established by law.

Article 49

Workers and employees shall be free to form trade union organizations and alliances in defence of their interests related to work and social security.
Employers shall be free to associate in defence of their economic interests.

Article 50

Workers and employees shall have the right to strike in defence of their collective economic and social interests. This right shall be exercised in accordance with conditions and procedures established by law.

Article 51

Citizens shall have the right to social security and social assistance.
The State shall provide social security for the temporarily unemployed in accordance with conditions and procedures established by law.
The aged without relatives and unable to support themselves, as well as invalids and the socially weak shall receive special protection from the State and society.

Article 52

Citizens shall have the right to medical insurance guaranteeing them affordable medical care, and to free medical care in accordance with conditions and procedures established by law.
Medical care shall be financed from the state budget, by employers, through private and collective health-insurance schemes, and from other sources in accordance with conditions and procedures established by law.
The State shall protect the health of all citizens and shall promote the development of sports and tourism.
No one shall be subjected to forcible medical treatment or sanitary measures except in circumstances established by law.
The State shall exercise control over all medical facilities and over the production and trade in pharmaceuticals, biologically active substances and medical equipment.

Article 53

Everyone shall have the right to education.
School attendance up to the age of 16 shall be compulsory.
Primary and secondary education in state and municipal schools shall be free. In circumstances established by law, the higher educational establishments shall provide education free of charge.
Higher educational establishments shall enjoy academic autonomy.
Citizens and organizations shall be free to found schools in accordance with conditions and procedures established by law. The education they provide shall fit the requirements of the State.
The State shall promote education by opening and financing schools, by supporting capable school and university students, and by providing opportunities for occupational training and retraining. It shall exercise control over all kinds and levels of schooling.

Article 54

Everyone shall have the right to avail himself of the national and universal human cultural values and to develop his own culture in accordance with his ethnic self identification, which shall be recognized and guaranteed by the law.
Artistic, scientific and technological creativity shall be recognized and guaranteed by the law.
The State shall protect all inventors’ rights, copyrights and related rights.

Article 55

Everyone shall have the right to a healthy and favorable environment corresponding to established standards and norms. They shall protect the environment.

Article 56

Everyone shall have the right to legal defence whenever his rights or legitimate interests are violated or endangered. He shall have the right to be accompanied by legal counsel when appearing before an agency of the State.

Article 57

The fundamental civil rights shall be irrevocable.
Rights shall not be abused, nor shall they be exercised to the detriment of the rights or the legitimate interests of others.
Following a proclamation of war, martial law or a state of emergency the exercise of individual civil rights may be temporarily curtailed by law, except for the rights established by Article 28, Article 29, Article 31 paras 1, 2 and 3, Article 32 para 1, and Article 37.

Article 58

All citizens shall observe and implement the Constitution and the laws. They shall respect the rights and the legitimate interests of others.
Obligations established by the Constitution and the law shall not be defaulted upon on grounds of religious or other convictions.

Article 59

To defend the country shall be a duty and a matter of honour of every Bulgarian citizen. High treason and betrayal of the country shall be treated as crimes of utmost gravity and shall be punished with all the severity of the law.
The training of the citizens to defend the country shall be established by law.

Article 60

Citizens shall pay taxes and duties established by law proportionately to their income and property.
Any tax concession or surtax shall be established by law.

Article 61

Citizens shall assist the State and society in the case of a natural or other disaster, on conditions and in a manner established by law.