CHANGES TO CHAPTER XIX IN THE CRIMINAL CODE OF RNM FROM 2023 IN A COMPARATIVE ASPECT

Abstract

Criminal law in North Macedonia is regulated through the Criminal Code, which entered
into force in 1996. But over the years, the Criminal Code has been amended and changed.
The latest changes include the changes approved and entered into force in 2023 where the
Criminal Code underwent changes that not only affected the legal personality, but also the
sanctions of the crimes. At the beginning of 2023, three major changes were made regarding
the content of the Code, which initially materialized the criminal acts in terms of international
legal assistance. Then we have the changes of many crimes from the chapter Crimes against sexual freedom and sexual morality, and the last changes approved in September fall under
the chapter Crimes against official duty.
The changes that were quite felt on the legal side were those of sexual crimes. In North
Macedonia, sexual crimes are criminalized in Chapter XIX, Crimes against sexual freedom
and sexual morality. And the procedure that is conducted to shed light on these crimes is
regulated by the Law on Criminal Procedure.
Sexual crimes are usually understood as all criminal acts that threaten and attack a
person's sexual integrity and morals. The protected subject of the acts included in this chapter
is the freedom of the person in gender relations.