Request for a preliminary ruling from the Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad (Bulgaria) lodged on 8 March 2022 – Criminal proceedings against BK

(Case C-175/22)

Language of the case: Bulgarian

Referring court

Spetsializiran nakazatelen sad

Party to the main proceedings

BK

Questions referred

Does Article 6(3) and (4) of Directive 2012/13/EU ¹ preclude an interpretation of national legal provisions – Article 301(1)(2), in conjunction with Article 287(1), of the Nakazatelno protsesualen kodeks (Code of Criminal Procedure, Bulgaria; ‘the NPK’) – in the case-law according to which the court may, in its judgment, give a legal classification of the offence that differs from that set out in the bill of indictment, provided that it is not classified as an offence attracting a more severe penalty, on the ground that the accused person was not properly informed of the new, different legal classification before the delivery of the judgment and was unable to defend himself against it?

If Question 1 is answered in the affirmative: Does the second paragraph of Article 47 of the Charter prohibit the court from informing the accused person that it could base its decision on the merits on a different legal classification of the offence, and also from giving him the opportunity to prepare his defence against that classification, because the initiative for this different legal classification did not come from the public prosecutor’s office?

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¹ Directive 2012/13/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2012 on the right to information in criminal proceedings (OJ 2012 L 142, p. 1).