The Criminal Law Response to the Migrant and Refugee Crisis

Abstract

As the subject of elaboration in this paper, the authors refer to the phenomenon of migration – phenomenon that always raised special interest in scientific circles, but recent years is particularly topical and actual question. Migration may be reviewed in a form of several manifestations like: voluntary (mainly economic) and forced migration caused by persecution, armed conflicts, war or other factors. The issue of refugees, asylum seekers and internal displaced persons is also particularly addressed and it is a special challenge from phenomenological aspect. The authors also elaborate the international corpus of human rights instruments for the protection of migrants and refugees, starting from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Status of Refugees, the Convention on migrations in abusive conditions and the promotion of equal opportunities and treatment to migrant workers, International Convention for the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families, the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational organized Crime etc. As a result of the international efforts in respect of the protection of the rights of refugees and migrants, and especially taking into consideration the migrant and refugee wave that took place globally, but also in the Republic of Macedonia as transiting country recent years, special attention is paid to the issue of the Criminal Law response.In this sense, the incriminations of the Criminal Code are elaborated: Art. 418b, muggling of migrants art.418-v, organizing a group and instigating the perpetration of such offences, art. 418-d, abuse of the visa-free regime with the member states of the European Union and of the Schengen Agreement, as well as the criminal offenses of the Law on foreigners. Authors also give reviews to the Law on asylum and temporary protection and general review of our legislation with the aim to provide elaboration on the question whether the criminal law response is appropriate.