Amendments to the Criminal Code

Brief Description

Amendments to the Criminal Code of 2017 attempt to criminalize other important forms of violence against women covered by the Istanbul Convention and to enforce punishment for the criminal act of domestic or family violence, as for the basic form of this criminal act the punishment is increased from one to two years, while for a violation of the protective measure from domestic violence (determined by court or other state authority pursuant to the law), instead of six months, it is envisaged the punishment of imprisonment for up to one year. Also, a new criminal act - stalking - was introduced, thereby aligning the Law with Article 34 of the Istanbul Convention. Amendments to the criminal act of rape were carried out, and the new form of criminal act – conclusion of a null marriage - was introduced. Furthermore, the amendments also introduced female genital mutilation and forced sterilization as criminal acts.