Act II of 2012 on offences, the procedure in relation to offences and the offence record system (the “Act on Offences”) effective from 15 April 2012 sets out prohibited offences, their legal consequences and the relevant procedural regulations as well.
According to the Act on Offences, acts or omissions prohibited by Acts of Parliament that are dangerous to society shall qualify as offences. These offences do not qualify as criminal offences but as minor misdemeanours. It is only Acts of Parliament that may prescribe certain conduct as offences, while decrees of the government or municipalities may not. Nevertheless, prior to the entering into effect of the Act on Offences, local municipalities were also entitled to determine conduct that qualifies as offences and are prohibited on the territory of the municipality. However, according to the Act on Offences, local municipalities are obliged to annul the provisions regarding offences set out by decrees of such local municipalities by 31 May 2012, and thus, decrees adopted by local municipalities may no longer create new offences and all existing offences must be removed. On the basis of Act 189 of 2011 on Local Municipalities effective from 15 April 2012, however, local municipalities are entitled to determine prohibited conduct that is against the community. Please see section I.4 of this Memorandum in this regard.
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