site.btaBulgaria Joins Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance

Bulgaria officially joined the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and Other International Crimes, the Bulgarian Justice Ministry said on Wednesday.

Justice Minister Atanas Slavov signed the convention on behalf of Bulgaria at the Peace Palace in The Hague. More than 35 countries of the world signed the document, including Austria, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Czechia, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, Poland, Slovenia, Ireland, Italy, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Argentina and Mongolia.

Slavov said in the Netherlands capital: "I hope the convention becomes an instrument establishing an effective mechanism to investigate crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes. It comes right on time, because it can support the efforts of the international community to identify and prosecute crimes related to the war in Ukraine."

The convention uses definitions from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to which Bulgaria is a party. It is part of a global consensus on fighting the most serious crimes under international law.

Slavov said: "Since the perpetrators of these crimes, the victims, the witnesses and the evidence often transcend the national borders, such a mechanism for international cooperation will make it possible to investigate these crimes successfully and to press charges."