Court of Appeal File No.

___________
Court of Appeal Registry Vancouver
Supreme Court File NO. S004040
Supreme Court Registry Vancouver
Affidavit No. 15
Michael Kapoustin
In the British Columbia of Appeal Court
(The Supreme Court of British Columbia)
Between
MICHAEL KAPOUSTIN et al
Appellants
(Plaintiffs)
And

REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA et al

Respondents
(Defendants)
And
Court of Appeal File No.___________
Court of Appeal Registry Vancouver
Supreme Court File NO. S005440
Supreme Court Registry Vancouver

In the British Columbia of Appeal Court

(The Supreme Court of British Columbia)
Between
Michael Kapoustin and LifeChoice International A.D. et al,
and
other similarly situated
Appellants
(Plaintiffs)
And

REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA et al

Respondents
(Defendants)

AFFIDAVIT

I, Michael Kapoustin, my current mailing address in c/o 298 South Beach Drive, Penticton, British Columbia
V2A 3W3 Canada my present address and address for service is currently, as an inmate c/o the Ministry of
Justice Republic of Bulgaria to the Sofia Central Prison, 21, "Stoletov" St., 1309 Sofia, Republic of Bulgaria, I
MAKE OATH UNDER THE LAWS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND SAY AS FOLLOWS:
Part I. Generally
1. I am the Applicant herein.

2. I make this Affidavit in support of my application for an Order to extend the time to file and
serve notice of application for leave to appeal.

3. I have no reason to believe that the respondents/defendants in either of the two above captions
actions will in anyway be disadvantaged, and know it to be true that the
Respondent/Defendant Government of the Republic of Bulgaria [as it then was prior to
August 2001] is, by its very conduct, the principal cause of my need to extend the time and to
make appeal to this Court. The reasons are as follows.

4. I am a Canadian citizen who under pre-trial arrest since 7 February, 1996 in a penitentiary
facility of the Defendant Republic of Bulgaria. This 6 year detention as imposed by the
Defendant is without benefit of final sentence or speedy trial standards recognised by
international law as to what may be deemed reasonable, it is therefore unreasonable as has
been the conduct of the Defendant in these proceedings. I make averment to this fact since
my detention and the conditions of that detention are material to my need for and does
directly influence the extension of time required from Court of Appeal.

5. It is a fact, ascertainable from third party observers and their affidavits given in evidence
in these proceedings and from the written declaration of the Minister of Justice of the
Defendant, Mr. Dimitar Tonchev [as he then was], that I am individually and specially
hindered by officials of the Defendant Government of Bulgaria, agencies or
instrumentalities, in my efforts in the timely preparation and filing of motions, requests or
pleadings generally when I attempt to do so through the only agency available to me, that
of my translator Ms. Marianna Radoulova. These obstructions are, according to foresaid
written declaration of the Defendant deputy Minister of Justice, the consequence of a
practice that may be summarised as follow; that once the accused or defendant in a penal
proceeding is incarcerated to await trail he or she is, as a result, has no or only very
limited fundamental and civil rights in the pursuit of their right to access international
justice.

6. The foresaid reasoning of the Defendant, to deny fundamental civil rights to incarcerated
persons and its conduct, makes difficult, if not impossible, for me to comply with the
procedural requirements of this Honourable Court in the regular way and within the time
normally fixed by the rules. I am further unable to file by regular the means or be provided
service pursuant to any method other than in that prescribed by the statute to be found in
the Hague Convention on the foreign service of documents, including diplomatic channels
of Canada's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The regular methods are closed to me. On
account of which I plead for this extension.

7. While it is immaterial to my request to the Court of Appeal, it should still be mentioned as

an extenuating circumstance, that when attempting to secure my rights as guaranteed by
international and Canadian law [and in principle, not practice, Bulgarian Constitutional
Law] I have been at different times, in the worst case placed in isolation and beaten by
officials of the Defendant as documented in news reports, and in the least invasive
instances had my gains in fundamental human and civil rights removed. As a result I exist
in a constant state of anxiety and fear as I seek to exercise my legal rights as a Canadian
citizen before Canada's courts.

8. After having said the foregoing I do wish to provide to my statement one caveat. There are
individual officials in administrative and political positions within the Defendant Government
of Bulgaria whose concerns on issues of fundamental human and civil rights are equal to
those of my own. It is only, as a result of their help and the intervention of the Government of
 Canada, together with the vicarious affects of the proceedings brought by my family and
investors in Canada before Canadian courts, that I have been afforded even the smallest
opportunity to plead and give evidence, for the time being and at present only in writing. This
will continue if there is a consensus among the parties that the comity of democratic nations
requires mutual respect for the rights of litigants in the reality of today mobile society and
economics.

9. I rely on the Justice of the Court of Appeal to understand and accept the circumstances as they
and to exercise the formidable powers of the Court and to secure for me the time and allow
me the use of facilities, such as electronic filings, to present my case before it and the court
before. The latter instance causing me to bring my appeal in the nature of certiorari or
mandamus to secure me such equal rights as are possible due to my poverty and
circumstances.

10. In closing I ask the Court of Appeal to insure that service or notice will be provided directly
to me in the Republic of Bulgaria at the address for service, fax and E-mail I have provided
and with allowances for sufficient time when considering the possible obstructions or other
interference by the Respondent/Defendant that I may be forced to overcome.

11. I provide, in Part II, a chronology of material facts relevant to my appeal should this Court
grant me leave. The difficulty of securing Canadian Consular Affairs attendance to certify my
signature gives me cause to provide these facts now rather than later, I therefore provide
attached hereto Part II, A Statement of Facts

Sworn the day of , 2001.

Dated this August 23rd July 2nd 2001 at the Central Penitentiary of the City of Sofia, the Republic of Bulgaria.
Applicant
Michael Kapoustin