Skopje, 12 September 2023 (MIA) - Director of the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, Natasha Gaber Damjanovska, believes that the amendments to the Criminal Code should not be viewed in isolation in relation to past events. The real issue, according to her, is why have so many years passed with so few resolved cases initiated by prosecutors.

"I believe the amendments should not be viewed in isolation in relation to previous events. The real issue is why have so many years passed with so few resolved cases initiated either by the Special Prosecutor's Office or by the Public Prosecutor's Office. This issue should really be analyzed, the Judicial Council and Council of Public Prosecutors should look into the matter. There were even pardons in the past, in order to empty prisons of overcrowding. All these elements make up a whole that must be objectively analyzed, to see how and what happened," Gaber Damjanovska said in response to a reporter's question after the "Femicide in North Macedonia and Western Balkans" conference in Skopje on Tuesday.

Minister of Labor and Social Policy, Jovanka Trenchevska also commented on the amendments, and noted that amendments made to the confiscation of property are a step in the right direction.

"There were different views in the public regarding the Criminal Code amendments. Some experts said that they are a step in the right direction. Others, the legal experts, criticized the amendments. Regarding amendments in terms of the confiscation of property, I believe they are in a good direction because they guarantee that anything that has been acquired illegally will be confiscated and returned to the citizens," Trenchevkska noted.

She added that she was not a lawyer and that the Ministry of Justice, the Government, and some of the experts that support the amendments say that cases will not be time-barred, but on the contrary, a more effective judiciary and work on the cases that are part of and will be covered by the amendments to the Criminal Code. ssh/nn/

Photo: MIA