Skopje, 26 April 2024 (MIA) - Changes to the Rules of Procedure of the Judicial Council with the goal of establishing deadlines over the progress of cases, shortening deadlines for making decisions, amendments to the Rules of Procedure in terms of way judges are awarded points in the election to higher courts, as well as requiring explanations why they were elected or not are some of the changes planned with the new communication strategy of the Judicial Council that aims to solve five of the recommendations of the EU peer review mission, said council chair Vesna Dameva at a media briefing Friday.  

Dameva clarified that there are roughly five measures related to transparency and accountability, and this is the target of the drafted communication strategy that will be adopted after the presidents of the courts provide their opinion in June 2024.

The drafting of the strategy, Dameva said is a part of an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations of the European Union’s peer review mission on the functioning of the Judicial Council, created in January 2024.

“The action plan is publicly available. It covers 17 of the recommendations that are under the direct authority of the Judicial Council. A person is in charge of each recommendation with concrete measures and the timeframe mustn’t be exceeded,” Dameva said.

In December 2023, the EU peer review mission delivered the report on the functioning of the Judicial Council which contains 40 short-term and mid-term recommendations for the improvement of the Council’s operations.  

At a briefing in the EU Delegation in December, the mission said the recommendations are grouped in six segments – structure and competence, members' terms, process for selection and election of judges, disciplinary proceedings, transparency and communication with public, resources and financing.

Seventeen recommendations relate to the practice and operations of the Judicial Council and can be implemented without any legislative changes. Seven refer to transparency and ten to the election and promotion of judges, which is a key function of the Council.

The other recommendations relate to who can be elected Council member, the term duration, definition of "renowned jurist", a framework on the manner and procedure to dismiss a Council chair, responsibility of Council members, as well as elaboration of the procedure and decision on sanctioning of judges.

The report was shared with the authorities and was not released to the public.

The EU peer review mission, comprised of three experts from Croatia, Belgium and Italy, stayed in the country in the course of September, conducting an analysis of the legal framework and meeting with all relevant institutions and experts from the non-governmental sector.

Photo: MIA Archive