Skopje, 9 October 2024 (MIA) - The Constitutional Court decided Wednesday to terminate the "balancer" tool used for employment in state institutions based on ethnicity. Court President Darko Kostadinovski said the decision was adopted through majority vote and will not be applied retroactively, noting claims that the court cancelled community rights were a manipulation.

Kostadinovski told a press conference that the decision terminates provisions from the Law on the Public Sector and Law on Public Administration, as well as related bylaws.

"In the specific case, it is a fact that the legislator effectuated the fundamental value of our constitutional order - proper and just representation. This fundamental value in our constitutional order was introduced in the Constitution in 2001 as a result of the necessity arising from the societal and constitutional reality at that time. It is also a fact that the effectuation of this fundamental value, in its core and nature, represents affirmative action, as defined in theory and practice, namely a measure that ensures positive discrimination," said Kostadinovski.

The second aspect of the decision, he added, was the Court's decision to cancel provisions from the Law on Registries, by which the Court says that ethnicity is a personal feeling of the citizen and as such can be changeable, noting it is a person's right to decide whether to declare or not declare this affiliation.

"The third argument is the fact that the possibility for the public sector employee having the right to request a change of his data in the Register, including the data on ethnicity, cannot serve as a guarantee to the observance and implementation of the fundamental value related to proper and just representation," said Kostadinovski.

The Court President stressed that politics "cannot put itself above the law and overstep the constitutionally defined framework, create legal chaos and therefore political chaos, while the court's legal response to that chaos to be labeled or serve as pretext for political tensions."

"It is high time we moved towards a mature democracy benefiting all citizens without exceptions. The Court decisions should neither be seen as a threat against someone or something, nor as decisions that enlarge or curtail one's rights. They should be accepted and serve as a guideline, a framework for action for all authorities - legislative, executive, judicial, monetary or local," said Kostadinovski.

He noted that the claims the Court cancelled community rights "are a manipulation and a lie".

"This is not true. We are guardians of the Constitution, including the embedded fundamental value of proper and just representation. Everyone is obligated to observe the Constitution and therefore everyone is obligated to observe and implement the proper and just representation. The legislator has the right and the constitutional authority to effectuate the fundamental value but in a constitutionally-permissible way. Both the legislator and the executive authorities now have the constitutional framework and proper guidelines," said Kostadinovski.

He urged citizens, state authorities and politicians to align their publicly declared positions on European standards and rule of law with their actions and the real needs of the citizens, if they truly want the country to do well.

"Everybody, including politicians, should respect the court's decisions without politicizing and ethnicizing them. Our decisions should be seen as protecting the rule of law," said Kostadinovski.

According to him, the public administration is the backbone of the state that provides numerous services, whereas the need for quality services "is not tied to ethnicity or any other affiliation, since we all need professional, competent, quality, and efficient services, something that requires competent employees".

In taking the decision, the Court took into consideration the 2023 European Commission Progress Report and various comparative decisions, such as the United States Supreme Court decision in the case "Students for fair admissions v. President and fellows of Harvard College".

MIA file photo