Skopje, 19 September 2023 (MIA) – The newly adopted amendments to the Criminal Code will lead to the expiration of the statute of limitations in 14 court cases initiated by the Special Prosecutor’s Office. Instead of adopting a law that will limit the deadline for action, there will be repercussions on the judges and public prosecutors who fail to act within the deadline, and the sanctions for those who have committed crimes are being reduced, concluded the participants in Tuesday’s panel discussion on the amendments to the Criminal Code organized by “Solution” Balkan Center for Constructive Policies.

At the debate, Biljana Ivanovska, the head of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption said the adoption of the amendments to the Criminal Code in a fast-track procedure increases the risk of corruption. According to her, the statements of public officials that they are ready to fight against corruption are only declarative, since, she said, in this way they only incite corruption and increase the chance of influence peddling.

“The law was adopted under a fast track procedure, a manner which we highlighted as an issue in the National Strategy and noted that this tool should be used rationally, especially when it comes to laws which are simple, incomplete. A law which causes such a broad discussion. All this should have been happening before the adoption of the law, and not after. So, all of this represents abuse of the tool for fast-tracked adoption of laws,” said Ivanovska.

Ivanovska said that instead of adopting a law that will limit the deadline for action, there will be repercussions on the judges and public prosecutors who fail to act within the deadline, and the sanctions for those who have committed crimes are being reduced

“What are the risk factors for corruption? Impunity, lack of rule of law, abuse of official position, discretionary powers, nepotism, lack of transparency, absence of integrity. Will these factors be reduced with such a law? No, on the contrary. Instead of adopting a law that will limit the deadline for action, there will be repercussions on the judges and public prosecutors who fail to act within the deadline, and the sanctions for those who have committed crimes are being reduced. Many fields for discussion are opening up, but we won’t change the essence. On the contrary, with such solutions, all we do is convey a message to the corrupt individuals that corruption pays off. What is the message to the citizens? That corruption will pay off,” said Ivanovska.

According to Aleksandra Cvetanovska, President of the Macedonian Young Lawyers Associations (MYLA), as a result of the newly adopted amendments to the Criminal Code the statute of limitations will expire in 14 court cases initiated by the Special Prosecutor’s Office – TNT, Talir, Treasury, Titanic, Titanic 2, Trajectory, Tenders, Spanish Stairs, Target/Fortress, and the case on Stevcho Jakimovski. Cvetanovska highlighted that more than 80 defendants in these cases will not be criminally prosecuted.

Cvetanovska said that when the laws are being drafted, the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) process is being completely overlooked. She added that their criticism were not only aimed at the fact the public wasn’t consulted about the amendments, but that the working group that was charged with the drafting of the new Criminal Code had no information that such amendments were being prepared. She noted that the EU flag was misused during the adoption of the amendments.

The Senior Resident Director of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) in North Macedonia, Robert Scott Heaslet, said they would encourage and advise those who are working on reforming Rules of Procedure in the Parliament to think about how to protect civic space, to ensure participation in policymaking processes. He noted that one way to do that is to have a parliamentary calendar, to know when things are going into procession, when legislation will be discussed within working bodies, when there will be an opportunity for citizens to have input about legislation and when it’s going to a plenary session.

“This is something that we have been working very closely with the Parliament to encourage them to think about ways in which to ensure parliamentary calendars, so everybody knows when things are happening. The other thing is when you talk about oversight. So regular oversight processes to ensure there are questions members of parliament ask about things. For example, the cancer clinic, that just happened, ask questions about what happened there and why. The other thing is when we’re adding the EU flag on something, there needs to be a CELEX number, so the EU number and the corresponding tables to note exactly which part we’re talking about changing. So these are some of the examples we are trying to work with the Parliament on, to think about ways in which to upgrade and enhance the Rules of Procedure to ensure that more people sit on the table to make informed choices,” said Heaslet

Photo: MIA