Under the law of the sea, the economic zone is not Bulgarian territory.
Veselina Kirilova, a maritime law specialist at the law firm VKBG & Co., offers a different perspective on the possibilities for investigation. According to her, the location of the attacks is a major obstacle to the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office initiating pre-trial proceedings, unless there is another basis for the applicability of Bulgarian criminal law.
Speaking to Dnevnik, Kirilova drew attention to the distinction between the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone.
| The territorial sea extends up to 12 nautical miles from the coast, whereas the attacks described in public reports occurred beyond these limits. According to available data, the attacks on October 13 took place approximately 18 and 17 nautical miles off the Bulgarian coast. |
Within its exclusive economic zone, Bulgaria holds certain rights regarding natural resources and specific powers, yet the zone does not form part of the state’s territory. According to Kirilova, this means it cannot be automatically assumed that the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office has territorial jurisdiction to investigate every crime committed there.
“In Bulgaria’s economic zone, the Prosecutor’s Office actually lacks the jurisdiction to initiate proceedings based on territorial grounds”.
The lawyer also discussed other possible grounds for an investigation. These include an attack on Bulgarian citizens or property, the commission of a crime by a Bulgarian citizen, or the infringement of Bulgarian interests. However, according to her, the publicly known circumstances do not show a sufficiently clear link between the targeted ships and Bulgarian individuals or legal entities.
The ships sail under foreign flags and are owned by foreign legal entities. Kirilova acknowledges that it would be possible to verify whether the cargoes or activities in the area are linked to Bulgarian interests, but she does not believe this has been established by the information publicly released by various institutions.
She also identifies damage to Bulgarian property—including cases where fishing vessels are affected or Bulgarian citizens are harmed—as possible scenarios. However, she notes that a distinction must be made between civil liability for damages and grounds for criminal prosecution. She adds that civil lawsuits could potentially be filed in certain instances if it turns out that Bulgarian individuals or legal entities are among the injured parties.
Of course, there are specific nuances—such as the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office’s jurisdiction to investigate crimes against peace and humanity (i.e., those committed by foreign nationals on foreign or no-man’s-land territory but which are nonetheless covered by the Bulgarian Criminal Code). “This is an extremely ‘grey’ area, and I do not believe the Bulgarian Prosecutor’s Office will accept that it has jurisdiction in this case or investigate the attacks,” says Kirilova.
She does not rule out the possibility of specific legal scenarios that would allow for an investigation, but she believes the case goes beyond the standard mechanisms of national criminal law and is closely linked to the international conflict and the relations between the affected states.
Such a specific opportunity exists for the Bulgarian state to actively participate in investigating the events. The recent attacks took place in the so-called contiguous zone. This is an area extending up to 24 nautical miles from the baselines of the territorial sea, where, in accordance with the law, Bulgaria exercises control to prevent violations of customs, fiscal, border, and health regulations within the country, as well as jurisdiction to punish violators of these provisions.
| Based on its mandate, the National Board for Investigation of Accidents in Air, Water, and Railway Transport could be seized of the matter; the Board has the authority to investigate incidents that occur outside the territorial sea but affect Bulgaria’s interests. |
Furthermore, regarding the country’s exclusive economic zone—and specifically the area just 30 km off the coast—it is in the interest of Bulgaria and its citizens to understand how the incident occurred, what its consequences are for the air, water, and aquatic resources in the region (including fisheries), and how it might impact the coastline and local economic activities. Naturally, this investigation would also involve the collection of evidence, including debris, and the information gathered could provide sufficient data to indicate a criminal offense, potentially leading to a referral to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Link to Dnevnik media: https://www.dnevnik.bg/bulgaria/2026/10/14/4965738_moje_li_prokuraturata_da_razsledva_udarite_po/
