Skopje, 27 September 2023 (MIA) - Deputy Prime Minister for good governance policies Slavica Grkovska held a working meeting Wednesday with the Vice President of the Slovenian Judicial Council, Urška Kežmah, in Ljubljana, during which they exchanged opinions on the mechanisms for developing the independence and integrity of the Judicial Council, the Government said in a press release.

Deputy PM Grkovska shared the challenges the Macedonian Judicial Council faces, which have led to the loss of credibility. She informed that EU’s peer review mission on the Judicial Council’s work, led by the Croatian judge and expert on legal issues Branko Hrvatin, finished last week. Now, she added, they are waiting on the evaluation report so that the country can begin implementing serious reforms.

"We value the experience of the EU member-states in the application of the European regulation, especially in regards to the justice system, promoting independence and strengthening integrity," Grkovska said.

She added that she submitted specific proposals to the expert team delegated by the European Commission on how to overcome weaknesses in the Judicial Council, which refer to improving the merit system, criteria for choosing judges, transparency, as well as numerous other solutions for strengthening professionalism, independence and efficiency of the institution.

"The Slovenian Judicial Council fights hard to maintain its independence, as well as the credibility of the institution and profession. For that purpose, we established an independent Disciplinary Court within the Judicial Council, led by judges with strong integrity and great experience," Kežmah noted.

She explained that in order to promote integrity and independence of judges, an independent Ethics and Integrity Commission operates within the Slovenian Judicial Council, as an independent body charged with assessing whether ethical norms have been violated, as well as a person for counseling in cases when judges have doubts whether a procedure goes against the Ethics Code; adding that in the judicial system in Slovenia, lawyers and judges pay special attention to the danger of conflict of interest.

Grkovska and Kežmah agreed that judges must protect their independence, which means that there must be no solidarity for those who harm the reputation of the profession or are corrupt. ssh/ad/

Photo: Government of North Macedonia