Kumanovo, 20 September 2024 (MIA) — After the Constitutional Court accepted the motion filed by former members of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption claiming abuse of the 'Balancer' program — designed to promote ethnic diversity through affirmative action in hiring governmental workers but which gave rise to "fraud, influence peddling, corruption and clientelism," according to the petitioners — Minister of Public Administration Goran Minchev welcomed Friday the court's temporary order to freeze some legal clauses until it decided if they were constitutional – although, he said, the Ministry of Public Administration would not revise any laws unless the order was made permanent, MIA's Kumanovo correspondent reports.

"The Constitutional Court issued a temporary order stopping some clauses or articles from the laws that have been generally debated – the Law on Public Sector Employees and the Law on Civil Servants," Minister Minchev said. 

"In principle, the Ministry of Public Administration does not comment on the Constitutional Court's temporary order, considering that it is enforceable and is being implemented.

"If you want my personal opinion, I consider the 'Balancer,' which is one of these provisions that have been temporarily stopped, a digital tool that was indeed subject to abuse in the past. Looking at the Constitutional Court order from that point of view, I welcome it," the public administration minister said.

Regarding potential new laws, Minister Minchev said the existing legislation would not be replaced until the Constitutional Court reached a final decision. 

"As for legal decisions, at this moment I cannot say whether there will be a new one or what the content of that law could be. I would wait for the final decision of the Constitutional Court first," he said, adding that the Ministry of Public Administration, depending on the court's final decision, would work on a new law that was constitutional. 

"We are not working on the law at the moment," he said, adding that he hoped the members of the ruling coalition would first openly discuss recent developments regarding the 'Balancer.' 

Answering reporter's questions in Kumanovo after attending a public debate on increasing professionalism in state institutions, Minchev said the government advocated for a thorough reform in the administration. It should employ people based on their professionalism, expertise, and knowledge, he said. 

"I condemn the calls for protests and destabilization of the state over the temporary order to stop the 'Balancer' clauses because [...] the time has come — and we, the government, are ready — for a comprehensive reform of the public administration. But it will have to be based on knowledge, quality, expertise, that is, professionalism. That's the only way our country can move forward," Minchev said. 

"I have said several times before that I consider the public administration the pillar of a state, essential for the existence of a state and a nation," he said. 

On Thursday, the Constitutional Court considered the anticorruption watchdog's motion disputing provisions from the Law on Public Sector Employees, Law on Civil Servants, and the official rulebook on public job announcements.

Accepting the motion, the Constitutional Court found the petitioners' claims valid, "but also expanded the suspicions of unconstitutionality and illegality to other provisions as well, and, upon its own initiative, launched a procedure for provisions from the same laws, as well as bylaws that arise from the laws,” the court's spokesperson said. mr/