Skopje, 6 September 2023 (MIA) – The proposed amendments go against the commitment for an unconditional fight against corruption and for increased sanctions against individuals charged or convicted for corruption, said Transparency International – Macedonia (TI-M) in a press release Wednesday, voicing concern over the Government’s proposal to amend the Criminal Code under a fast-track procedure.

The press release said that at a time of increased signals from inside and outside the country which point that corruption, especially high corruption, is at a high level, and the citizens’ trust in the judiciary is the lowest it has ever been in the history of the country, a proposed legislation has been submitted to Parliament which would lead to a softer treatment and softer sanctions for offenders who have abused their official position for their personal gain, while also making confiscation impossible.

Transparency noted that the draft amendments to the Criminal Code propose a reduction of sanctions for abuse of official position and authority, and the scrapping of paragraph 5 of article 353, which sanctions the abuse of official position and authority during public procurement, or actions which harm the public budget or public funds. Transparency adds that the amendments also reduce the maximum sentence for criminal association from 10 to 3 years, while also abolishing extended confiscation of illegally acquired property.

This practice of adopting “custom-made” legislation, added the press release, was already seen and noted when it was necessary to secure votes for the Prespa Agreement.

“The ‘custom-made’ laws represent a relatively new type of high level corruption, where laws and regulations are silently adopted or amended to benefit the private interests of a certain individual or enterprise. In this case, there already exists a practice used to fulfill certain political goals through ‘silent amnesty’, with the commitments to the rule of law once again being toppled in front of the commitment for a political compromise,” said the press release.

Transparency stressed that the harm that could potentially arise as a result of such amendments, which “practically lead to impunity”, would be enormous, and they called for the proposal to be withdrawn.

“The fight against corruption encompasses a joint cooperation of all stakeholders in society through joint, continued and dedicated action,” said Transparency International – Macedonia and stressed that their press release will be forwarded to GRECO, UNODC and Transparency International.

Photo: MIA Archive