Macedonia: Military service, and who is required to perform regular and reserve service; treatment of draft evaders who are older than 27 years of age; penalty for desertion; whether the Macedonian government issued a call-up for reserves in January 2001 or later; whether the government issued call-up notices to men over 40 years of age during the 2001 uprising
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 17 June 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | MCD41427.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Macedonia: Military service, and who is required to perform regular and reserve service; treatment of draft evaders who are older than 27 years of age; penalty for desertion; whether the Macedonian government issued a call-up for reserves in January 2001 or later; whether the government issued call-up notices to men over 40 years of age during the 2001 uprising, 17 June 2003, MCD41427.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4dc831.html [accessed 2 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Ohrid peace agreement signed on 13 August 2001, helped to bring an end to the 2001 ethnic Albanian uprising (European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) n.d.; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) 8 Mar. 2002). An important element of the agreement was the creation of an amnesty law (ibid.). According to an unofficial translation on the European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI) Website, the Macedonian Law on Amnesty adopted on 7 March 2002 states that under Article 2 "[t]he provisions of [A]rticle 1, exclusive of paragraph 4, of this Law also apply to persons who during the period of duration of the conflict have not responded to the invitation and avoided the military service and military exercise as well as persons that have arbitrarily left the armed forces" (Macedonia 8 Mar. 2002). For the full text of this law, please refer to the electronic attachment.
Quoting the Albanian daily Fakti, the Republic of Macedonia's Agency of Information reported that the Amnesty Law '"stipulates a general amnesty for all members of the NLA [National Liberation Army or UCK] and for deserters"' (Macedonia 12 Mar. 2002). The law "amnestied men who refused conscription for army service and others who deserted" (Institute for War and Peace Reporting 13 Mar. 2002).
Article 3 of the Defence Law of the Republic of Macedonia, enacted on 14 February 1992, states that "[a]ll male citizens of the Republic, aged 17 to 55 are obligated to fulfill the military obligation." Article 7 states that conscripts must complete nine months of service in the Armed Forces (Macedonia 14 Feb. 1992).
Article 344 of the Criminal Code of Macedonia, enacted on 23 July 1996, states that if a military person fails to complete compulsory service by leaving "his unit or service," he shall be fined or imprisoned up to one year while a person who abandons his unit or service during an important operation shall be imprisoned for three months to three years. Article 344 further states that if a member of the armed services leaves the country to avoid military service, that person shall face between one to ten years imprisonment (Macedonia 23 July 1996). No information on the treatment of draft evaders who are older than 27 years of age could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
According to a 19 March 2001 Glas Srpski news report on the Alternative Information Network Website (AIM), a "[s]pokesman of the Ministry of Defence of Macedonia Djordji Trandafilovski declared today in Skopje that a call-up of the reserve forces of the Macedonian Army had begun" (AIM 19 Mar. 2001). No information on whether Macedonia issued call-up notices to men over 40 years of age during the 2001 uprising could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
For further information, please refer to MCD40320.E of 12 May 2003 and MCD40738.E of 27 May 2003.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Alternative Information Network (AIM). 19 March 2001. "Call-Up in Macedonia
Begins." European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI). n.d. "Securing Implementation of the Ohrid
Agreement Through Concrete Policy Action." Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). 13 March 2002. Veton Latifi.
"Macedonia: Jailed Albanian Insurgents Pardoned." Macedonia. 12 March 2002. Agency of Information. "Prisoners Are Being Released,
Criminal Pursuits Ceased." ______. 7 March 2002. Law on Amnesty: Unoffical Translation. (European Country of
Origin Information Network (ECOI)). ______. 23 July 1996. Criminal Code. (Public Prosecution Office of Republic of
Macedonia) ______. 14 February 1992. Defence Law of the Republic of Macedonia. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). 8 March 2002. Jolyon Naegele. "Macedonia: Parliament Passes General Amnesty Law." Additional Sources Consulted
IRB Databases
Attempts to contact or obtain information from the Embassy of the Republic of
Macedonia in Ottawa were unsuccessful.
Internet sites, including:
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Reality Macedonia
ReliefWeb
War Resisters International
Search engine:
Google
Electronic Attachment
Macedonia. 7 March 2002. Law on Amnesty: Unofficial Translation. (European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI). Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia No. 18, Friday, 8 March 2002 273. Pursuant to Article 75 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, the President of the Republic of Macedonia and the President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, issue the: DECREE FOR PROCLAIMING THE LAW ON AMNESTY The Law on Amnesty , Which the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia adopted at its session held on 7th March, 2002 is hereby proclaimed. No. 07-1117/1 President of 7th March 20 the Republic of Macedonia Skopje Boris Trajkovski President of the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia Stojan Andov LAW ON AMNESTY Article 1 This law exempts from prosecution, discontinues the criminal proceedings and fully exempts from execution of the sentence to imprisonment (hereinafter: amnesty), citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, persons with lawful residence, as well as persons that have property or family in the Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter: persons), for whom there is a reasonable doubt that they have prepared or committed criminal acts related to the conflict in the year 2001, conclusive of 26 September 2001. The amnesty also applies to persons who have prepared or committed criminal acts related to the conflict in the year 2001 before the 1st of January 2001. With the amnesty mentioned in paragraph 1 and 2 of this Article: – persons for whom there is a reasonable doubt that they have prepared or committed – criminal acts related to the conflict until 26th September 2002 are exempted from prosecution for criminal acts pursuant to the Criminal Code and other law of the Republic of Macedonia; – the criminal proceedings for criminal acts pursuant to the Criminal Code and other law of the Republic of Macedonia against persons for whom there is a reasonable doubt that they have prepared or committed criminal acts related to the conflict until 26 September 2001 are discontinued; – persons who have prepared or committed criminal acts related to the conflict until 26 September 2001, are fully exempted from the execution of the sentence to imprisonment for criminal acts pursuant to the Criminal Code and other law of the Republic of Macedonia; and – It is determined that the convicting verdict be deleted and and that the legal consequences of the convicting verdict be repealed, conclusive of 26 September 2001. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article do not apply to persons who have committed criminal acts related to and in connection with the conflict in the year 2001, which are under the jurisdiction of and for which the 1991 International Tribunal for Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violation of International Humanitarian Law in the Territory of Former Yugoslavia, will instigate proceedings. Article 2 The provisions of article 1, exclusive of paragraph 4, of this Law also apply to persons who during the period of duration of the conflict have not responded to the invitation and avoided the military service and military exercise as well as persons that have arbitrarily left the armed forces. Article 3 Persons convicted by an effective verdict for criminal acts provided for by the Criminal Code and other law of the Republic of Macedonia, who at the day of entry into force of this Law have started serving the sentence to imprisonment in the penitentiary institutions in the Republic of Macedonia, are exempted from the execution of the sentence to imprisonment, for 25% of the part of the sentence which has not been served. The provision of paragraph 1 of this Article does not apply to persons convicted of criminal acts against humanity and international law, illicit production and trafficking of narcotics, psycho-tropic substances and precursors, for enabling the use of narcotics, psycho-tropic substances and precursors as well as persons sentenced to life imprisonment. Article 4 If criminal charges have not been brought against the persons of Articles 1 and 2 of this law, they shall not be brought. Article 5 The procedure of application of this Law to the persons referred to in Article 1, paragraph 3, line 1 and 2 and Article 2 of this Law against whom criminal proceedings are ongoing is initiated ex officio by the competent public prosecutor, respectively, the competent first instance court or the person to whom the amnesty applies, respectively the person who may lodge an appeal to the benefit of the defendant. The procedure of application of this Law to the persons referred to in Article 1, paragraph 3, line 3 and Article 2 and 3 of this Law for which the criminal proceedings are effectively completed shall be initiated ex officio by the penitentiary institution where the convicted person serves the sentence to imprisonment, and for the persons that have not yet started to serve the sentence to the imprisonment, the procedure is initiated ex officio by the court which has passed the first instance verdict or upon the request of the public prosecutor or the convicted person. The decision for amnesty of the persons of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article is reached by the competent body pursuant to the Law on Criminal Proceedings, respectively the Law on Execution of Sanctions within 3 days from the day of adoption of this Law. Article 6 The Public Prosecutor, the persons to whom the amnesty applies, and the persons who may lodge an appeal to their benefit, may lodge an appeal against the decisions of Article 5 paragraph 3 of this Law. The Public Prosecutor may not lodge an appeal against the decision by which the person has been amnestied. The immediate higher court decides upon the appeal against the decision of the first instance court, while the Ministry of Justice decides upon the appeal against the decision of the penitentiary institution. The appeal of paragraph 1 of this Article does not suspend the execution of the decision. Article 7 The provisions of the Law on Criminal Proceedings and Law on Execution of Sanctions apply also in the procedure of implementation of this Law, if not otherwise regulated by this Law. Article 8 The Minister of Justice may adopt Guidelines for the Implementation of this Law the on the day following the day of the entry into force of this Law. Article 9 This Law enters into force on the day of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia"
