The Bulgarian court may refuse to recognise the judicial instrument when:
1. a certificate has not been provided, the said certificate is incomplete or manifestly does not correspond to the judicial instrument and has not been completed or corrected within the deadline set by the court;
2. the person is not in Bulgarian territory or in the territory of the issuing State, has not given his or her consent where required, and the Republic of Bulgaria is not:
(a) the State of nationality of the person in which he or she is domiciled;
(b) the State of nationality of the person to which he or she will be deported while not being the State where he or she is domiciled once he or she is released from the enforcement of the sentence on the basis of an expulsion or deportation order included in a judicial instrument or administrative act or any other measure taken consequential to the sentence as imposed;
(c) any State, other than the States referred to in Litterae (a) and (b), the competent authority of which consents to the forwarding thereto of the judicial instrument and the certificate;
3. recognition would be contrary to the principle of ne bis in idem;
4. the judicial instrument is issued in relation to an act which does not constitute a criminal offence under Bulgarian law, except in the cases referred to in Article 8 (2) herein - i.e. acts related to cases in which double criminality is not required, where the Bulgarian law entirely complies with Article 7 (1) of the Framework Decision; execution of a judicial instrument in relation to taxes, duties, customs or exchange may not refused on the ground that Bulgarian law does not impose the same kind of tax or duty or does not contain the same type of rules as regards taxes, duties, customs or exchange regulations as the law of the issuing State;
5. the enforcement of the sentence as determined by the judicial instrument is statute-barred according to Bulgarian law;
6. the sentenced person enjoys immunity under Bulgarian law;
7. the judicial instrument is issued in respect of a person who, under Bulgarian law, owing to his or her age, could not have been held criminally liable for the acts in respect of which the instrument was issued;
8. at the time the judicial instrument was received by the court, less than six months of the sentence remain to be served;
9. the judicial instrument is issued as a result of a trial at which the sentenced person did not appear in person, unless the certificate expressly states that one of the following requirements has been met:
(a) the person was summoned in person and thereby was informed in due time of the scheduled date and place of the trial, or received official information of the said date and place in another manner clearly establishing that he or she was aware of the scheduled trial and was informed that a decision may be handed down if he or she does not appear;
(b) having been informed in due time of the scheduled trial, the person had given a mandate to a legal counsellor or such counsellor was appointed thereto by the court to defend him or her at the trial, and such defence was indeed provided;
(c) after being served with the decision and being expressly informed of the right to an appeal or a retrial in which the person can participate in person and which allows the merits of the case, including fresh evidence, to be re-examined, and which may lead to the original decision being reversed, the person expressly stated that he or she does not contest the decision or did not request a retrial or appeal within the applicable time frame;
10. the issuing State does not consent to that the sentenced person being prosecuted, sentenced or otherwise deprived of his or her liberty in the Republic of Bulgaria for another act committed prior to the surrender thereof;
11. the sentence imposed includes compulsory medical measures or measures involving deprivation of liberty, which cannot be executed by the Republic of Bulgaria in accordance with Bulgarian law;
12. the judicial instrument relates to a criminal offence which under Bulgarian law is regarded as having been committed wholly or partly within the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, including in a place equivalent to its territory (such decision is taken by the court in exceptional circumstances and on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the specific circumstances, and in particular to whether a major part of the act has taken place in the issuing State).
Before refusing to recognise the judicial instrument on the grounds of Items 1 to 3 and Items 9 to 12 the court consults the competent authority of the issuing State and, where appropriate, asks it to supply additional information without delay.
According to the Bulgarian law partial recognition and enforcement is also possible.