North Macedonia
North Macedonia has dedicated counterterrorism provisions in its Criminal Code. There is no carve-out for the exercise of fundamental human rights. A new law prohibiting terrorist financing was adopted in July 2022.
The Definition of Terrorism in Domestic Law
The Criminal Code defines terrorism as follows:
Any person who commits one or more crimes of murder, corporal injuries, abduction, destruction of public facilities, transportation systems, infrastructure facilities, computer systems and other facilities of general use, hijacking of airplanes or other means of public transportation, production, possession, transportation, trade, procurement or use of nuclear weapons, biological, chemical weapons and other types of weapons and hazardous materials, as well as research in the direction of development of biological and chemical weapons, release of dangerous radioactive, poisonous and other dangerous substances or causing fire or an explosion, destruction of facilities for water supply, energy supply or other basic natural sources, with the intention to endanger human life and body and to create feeling of insecurity or fear among citizens.Art. 394-b (1), Criminal Code of North Macedonia.
The Criminal Code separately defines terrorism affecting the constitutional order as:
A person who, with the intention of endangering the constitutional system or the security of the Republic of Macedonia, causes or seriously threatens to cause an explosion, fire, flood, or some other generally dangerous act or act of violence, creating a sense of insecurity or fear among the citizens.Art. 313, Criminal Code of North Macedonia.
Adherence to Global and Regional Terrorism Treaties
North Macedonia is a State Party to all of the main United Nations treaties on terrorism.
| Treaty | Adherence |
|---|---|
| 1973 Convention on Crimes against Internationally Protected Persons | State Party |
| 1979 Hostage-Taking Convention | State Party |
| 1997 Terrorist Bombings Convention | State Party |
| 1999 Terrorist Financing Convention | State Party |
| 2005 Nuclear Terrorism Convention | State Party |
North Macedonia is also a State Party to most of the European regional treaties on terrorism.
| Treaty | Adherence |
|---|---|
| 1977 European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism | State Party |
| 2003 Protocol amending the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism | State Party |
| 2005 Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism | State Party |
| 2015 Additional Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism | Signatory |
In adhering to the 1977 Convention, North Macedonia declared that it
reserves the right to refuse extradition in respect of any offence mentioned in Article 1 which it considers to be a political offence, an offence connected with a political offence or an offence inspired by political motives; in these cases, the Republic of Macedonia undertakes to take into due consideration when evaluating the character of the offence, its particularly serious aspects, including that it created a collective danger to the life, physical integrity or liberty of persons or that it affected persons foreign to the motives behind it or that cruel or vicious means have been used in the commission of the offence.
Laws and Penalties for Terrorist Offences
The ordinary penalty for terrorist offences is at least ten years in prison but up to life imprisonment.Art. 394-b, Criminal Code of North Macedonia.
The penalty for terrorist offences endangering the State is "at least" ten years imprisonment.Art. 313, Criminal Code of North Macedonia.Organizing a terrorist group carries a minimum sentence of eight years while joining such a group is punished with between four and ten years in prison.Art. 394-a, Criminal Code of North Macedonia.
Counterterrorism Capacities and Policies at Domestic Level
There is a National Coordinator for countering terrorism (CT) and violent extremism (CVE).
The North Macedonia Police has a dedicated counterterrorism unit. They were involved in responding to what transpired as a series of fake bomb threats in December 2022.
Glossary
Twitter