Parliament passes Penal Code Bill

Parliament has today passed the Penal Code Bill, which has been in committee review for the past eight years.

The bill was passed with 48 votes in favour, 1 against and 3 abstentions, during the fifth sitting of the first session of parliament today.

Parliament floor last returned the bill to the Penal Code Committee for further review with 1 amendment in December last year.

The Penal Code bill was received by the Parliament in 2006. The bill, containing 1204 articles, will come into force six months from ratification.

The new Penal Code includes categorisation of crimes and tables for penalties. The punishment of exile has been eliminated from the law. The existing Penal Code has been in effect since 1961.