The formal working group tasked with drafting the Law on Confiscation of Assets in Civil Proceedings held its first meeting Tuesday, during which they established an intensive dynamic of work for the coming month, said the Government in a press release. The goal is to draft a solution by mid-September, which will then be delivered to the European Union and the Venice Commission for assessment.

“To that end, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of good governance, Slavica Grkovska, who chairs the working group, stressed the importance of a swift adoption of the law, because it will represent an added value to the tools in the fight against corruption. Deputy Prime Minister Grkovska informed the members of the working group about the draft text of the legislation, which has been prepared in the past year in cooperation with the Council of Europe. The initial document is a solid basis for the drafting of a functional and applicable law, which won’t contradict other legislation and will follow international standards,” said the Government.

“To that end, the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of good governance, Slavica Grkovska, who chairs the working group, stressed the importance of a swift adoption of the law, because it will represent an added value to the tools in the fight against corruption. Deputy Prime Minister Grkovska informed the members of the working group about the draft text of the legislation, which has been prepared in the past year in cooperation with the Council of Europe. The initial document is a solid basis for the drafting of a functional and applicable law, which won’t contradict other legislation and will follow international standards,” said the Government.

Based on a feasibility study, an analysis of the situation, and models of confiscation in modern legal systems, an informal expert group concluded that the existing criminal and administrative legislation cannot fully cover the cases which emerge in practice when illegally obtained assets cannot be fully confiscated during the procedures.

“Consequently, several international and domestic documents were reviewed as a basis for the drafting of a new, sustainable legislation that will enable the introduction of an additional mechanism successfully preventing unjust enrichment and allowing the confiscation of illegally obtained assets,” said the press release.