10.  The applicant was born in 1946 and lives in Vratsa. 11.  On 22 June 1994 criminal proceedings were opened against him for having threatened another person with murder.
A witness was questioned on 9 August 1994. Two other witnesses were questioned on 15 May and 25 June 1996. 12.  The applicant was questioned as a witness on 23 August 1996. According to his submissions, it was only then that he became aware of the proceedings. On the same date the investigator in charge of the case commissioned a graphological expert to determine whether a threat note left in the victim's postal box had been written by the applicant. The expert's report was ready on 25 September 1996. 13.  On 7 October 1996 the applicant was charged. He contested the authenticity of the threat note. On 21 October 1996 the investigator rejected this objection and on 22 October 1996 recommended that the applicant be committed for trial. 14.  On 5 December 1996 the prosecution submitted to the Vratsa District Court an indictment against the applicant. On 15 January 1997 the judge to whom the case was assigned set it down for hearing. 15.  On 1 April 1997 the applicant, who was involved in numerous proceedings together with his wife, requested the judge's withdrawal, because his wife had commenced a civil action against the judge for having insulted her in public. On 7 April 1997 the applicant's request was granted and the case was assigned to a new judge. 16.  On 8 April 1997 the applicant requested that his case be examined by another court, arguing that all judges in the Vratsa District Court were “biased”. As a result of his request, on 14 May 1997 the case was transferred to the Biala Slatina District Court. 17.  On 13 October 1997 the Biala Slatina District Court fixed a hearing for 13 March 1998. 18.  On 20 January 1998 the applicant asked the court to reschedule the hearing, because on 13 March 1998 he had to attend a hearing in another case in a different town. The court rescheduled the hearing for 25 September 1998. 19.  The hearing took place on 25 September 1998. The prosecutor asked the court to remit the case to the phase of the preliminary investigation, stating that the available evidence was not sufficient to sustain a finding of guilt and that certain witnesses had not been questioned. The court acceded to the request over the applicant's objection. The court's decision stated that it was subject to appeal before the Vratsa Regional Court. 20.  On 5 October 1998 the applicant filed an interlocutory appeal against the remitting of the case. On 21 October 1998 he amended his appeal. On 5 November 1998 the Vratsa Regional Court declared the appeal inadmissible, holding that the lower court's decision to remit the case was not subject to appeal as it did not put an end to the criminal proceedings. On 9 November 1998 the applicant appealed against this decision to the Supreme Court of Cassation. On 12 January 1999 the Supreme Court of Cassation rejected the appeal. 21.  The case file was then returned to the prosecution, which forwarded it to the investigation authorities on 22 March 1999 with instructions to question several witnesses. On 6 April 1999 the case was assigned to an assistant investigator. 22.  On 30 July 2001 the applicant was charged anew. 23.  On 5 September 2001 the investigator, having completed his work on the case, transmitted the file to the Vratsa District Prosecutor's Office. 24.  On 11 October 2001 the Vratsa District Prosecutor's Office decided to discontinue the proceedings, finding that the relevant limitation period had expired in July 2001. On appeal by the applicant its decision was upheld by the Vratsa District Court on 3 December 2001, by the Vratsa Regional Court on 11 February 2002, and by the Supreme Court of Cassation on 11 July 2002.