Skopje, 6 September 2023 (MIA) – In a fast track procedure Wednesday, Parliament’s Committee on European Affairs approved the draft amendments to the Criminal Code and forwarded them for further procedure. The amendments are on the agenda of the 125th session of Parliament to be held Wednesday.

The proposed amendments to the Criminal Code mainly amend articles which refer to officials, as well as articles related to the environment.

Deputy Minister of Justice Viktorija Avramovska-Madikj presented the amendments to the Committee, stating that the intention was to secure clear, precise and firm descriptions of the crimes and that the draft amendments will lead to an increase of the number of crimes warranting confiscation of property. 

With the amendments, paragraph 5 of article 353 of the Criminal Code is being scrapped, which foresaw a minimum sentence of 5 years imprisonment for the crime of abuse of official position and authorization committed during public procurement or at the harm of funds from the Budget. The novelty in this article is the introduction of a paragraph which foresees the confiscation of acquired property.

The amendments to article 353-c, which refers to the crime of “unscrupulous operation within the service” reduce the sentence of a minimum 3 years of imprisonment to 6 months – 5 years.

Instead of the maximum 10 years of imprisonment foreseen in article 394 for “criminal association”, the amendments foresee a maximum prison sentence of 3 years. Most of the cases from the former Special Prosecutor’s Office fall under “criminal association”.

The goal of the amendments, according to the proposal, is the alignment of the Criminal Code with international documents. 

Photo: MIA