Bulgarian judges have caused a diplomatic international incident after ordering a car, stolen in Germany, to be used as their new transportation vehicle.

Bulgarian border officials seized the luxury BMW X5 SUV from a car thief in April.

However, Bulgarian authorities have refused to return the luxury ride back to its rightful owner in Oldenburg, Germany.

The German ambassador intervened and is currently in talks with Bulgaria.

Frank Schmitz, a German lawyer who specializes in car theft cases, was not surprised to hear about the Judges taking a likening to the BMW.

He reports he knows of "dozens of cases like this." The situation with stolen cars taken from abroad in Bulgaria is getting "worse and worse," even though the country is set to become part of the European Union in 2007.