NATIONAL LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORKS CONCERNING DEFENDANTS AND PERSONS DEPRIVED OF LIBERTY WITH INTELLECTUAL AND/OR PSYCHOSOCIAL DISABILITIES IN LAW AND IN PRACTICE detainee will receive the services of the public defender of his/her choice. Police officers have additional obligations to provide the detained person with a lawyer within 2 hours of his/her arrest, to ensure that within 30 minutes of the lawyer’s arrival at the detention facility he/ she is allowed access to the detainee; to ensure that a lawyer is present at the very first police interrogation of the detainee; if the appointed lawyer fails to appear at the detention facility in a timely manner the investigative authorities may file a complaint requesting that the lawyer be subject to disciplinary action.79 In Bulgaria there are no lawyers who specialise in providing legal assistance to persons with IPD, nor does the legislation require so. Legal defence services are currently not subject to any quality assessment. As part of a research carried out on police detention in 2015, a number of practicing lawyers were interviewed who were of the shared opinion that, generally, detainees have access to legal aid if and only after they are indicted.80 All persons detained at police departments may receive a medical examination upon their own request or if their health condition requires it according to the police officers on duty.81 A medical examination may also be requested by a parent, a guardian, a lawyer or a foreign diplomat (in those cases when the detainee is a foreign citizen). The current procedure requires that the physician performing the medical examination should issue a report, a copy of which should be provided to the detainee or his/her lawyer. Тhe legislation does not contain any provisions specifying which physicians are eligible to perform this service and who is responsible for the payment for non-emergency doctors’ visits to police departments82 (in the event that a detainee requests that a particular physician perform this service then he/she is responsible for covering that doctor’s bill83). Currently, there are no regulations governing the qualifications, the place of work and the professional requirements of designated medical personnel who are to provide medical assistance to detainees with IPD held in police custody. They cannot request further examination or examination by a psychiatrist free of charge. 78 Bulgaria, Legal Aid Act (1.01.2006), Art. 25, para. 5. - “whenever possible, the bar association shall appoint the attorney requested by the person receiving the legal assistance”. 79 Bulgaria, Chief Prosecutor, Instruction 134/11.04.2011 on the Actions that Pre-trial Authorities may Undertake in Relation to Lawyers (Инструкция 134 от 11.04.2011 г. на главния прокурор относно действията, които могат да извършват органите на досъдебното производство по отношение на адвокати), Art. 7, Art. 8 and Art 14, available in Bulgarian at: available at: http://svak.lex.bg/news.html&pn=15&id=964. 80 Bulgaria, Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, The Normative and Practical Obstacles to Effective Prosecution of Ill-Treatment by Official Persons, 2017, available in English at: http://www.bghelsinki.org/media/uploads/2016police_en.pdf. 81 Bulgaria, Ministry of Interior Act (27.06.2014), Art. 74, para. 2, item 6, b and c and Instruction 8121з-78 of 24 January 2015 on the Order for Executing Arrests, and the Accommodation Requirements, Rules and Procedures at Detention Facilities of the Ministry of Interior, Art. 21. 82 Bulgaria, Open Society Foundation, Independent Custody Visiting at Police Detention Facilities 2010–2011, 2010-2011, page. 20, available in English at: http://www.osi.bg/cyeds/downloads/Grajd_nabljudenie_policia_ENG.pdf. 83 Bulgaria, Ministry of Interior, Instruction 8121з-78 of 24 January 2015, Art. 21, para. 4. 28 SLAVKA KUKOVA