Skopje, 11 December 2025 (MIA) - The Parliamentary Committee on Political System and Inter-Community Relations and the Legislative Committee endorsed the need of adopting the new Draft Law on the Judicial Council, which represents a basis for a substantial reform of the judiciary. The draft law received support from all committee members, including the opposition, the Ministry of Justice said.

According to Justice Minister, Igor Filkov, the draft law lays the foundations for an independent and functional judiciary, which is a prerequisite for the rule of law.

“Today we are starting with the package of reform laws-something we promised during the elections and are now delivering to the citizens. The existing 2019 law, according to all relevant analyses – the European Commission, the U.S. State Department, the expert community and the civil sector – showed serious shortcomings: insufficient transparency in the selection and dismissal of judges; opportunities for political influence; unclear criteria for selecting and evaluating judges; and ineffective mechanisms for determining the accountability of Council members and judges themselves, which in the past often led to paralysis of the Council’s work and unfortunate public incidents that affected the institution’s credibility and integrity,” Filkov said while presenting the draft law.

As the minister pointed out, these shortcomings necessitated a complete redefinition of the Judicial Council’s position, competences and working criteria, with the clear objective of rebuilding confidence in the judiciary.

“This law marks a new era in the Ministry, where every key law for the citizens will be drafted openly and transparently. The priority is quality legislation – something the Ministry of Justice has lacked until now,” Filkov stressed.

The Ministry of Justice said the draft law introduces several key changes: making the dismissal procedure for the Judicial Council president public; clearly defining, for the first time, the criteria for choosing a “distinguished lawyer”; requiring public hearings for non-judicial candidates to boost transparency; and tightening the criteria for choosing and holding accountable Council members from the judiciary. The draft law clarifies the disciplinary procedure for judges and Judicial Council members, requires the Council to clearly explain decisions on appointments and accountability, sets deadlines for disciplinary actions, defines the grounds and process for appeals, and introduces additional measures to align the legal framework with EU recommendations.

The Ministry of Justice emphasized that it conducted a transparent process in drafting the law, which included: European Commission’s peer review mission (September–December 2023); public consultations across the country (November–December 2024); a working group composed of experts, judges, Council members and civil society representatives (2025); publication of the draft law on ENER and review of all submitted comments; and full integration of the Venice Commission’s recommendations (June 2025).

The Ministry of Justice announced that the Draft Law on the Judicial Council will be on the agenda of the parliamentary session on December 16.

Photo: Ministry of Justice