Skopje, 23 June 2023 (MIA) - The Platform of Civil Society Organizations for Fight against Corruption and the Blueprint Group for Judicial Reforms said Friday they won't be nominating a member and a deputy member to the Commission on conducting election of Judicial Council members from the ranks of judges based on the announced public call.

"In the past period, the Blueprint Group and the Platform demanded resignations from all members of the Council. The reason is inappropriate and unlawful conduct of the Judicial Council, in the previous period, by which it lost the legitimacy of being a body that would protect judicial independence, improve the reputation of the judicial system in the public and guarantee accountability and quality in the work of judges," reads the press release.

The civil society organizations believe that the resignations of two members of the Council are not enough to restore its legitimacy, and the election of two new members of the Judicial Council will not change the perception of the previous actions of the current composition of the Judicial Council and thus, will not fulfill the civil society organizations' expectations in entirety.

In addition, the civil society organizations maintain the position that the only way to overcome the situation caused by the unlawful work of the Judicial Council is if the rest of the members also submit their resignations and if promotion of transparency, accountability and inclusiveness is initiated in the process of electing new members of the Council.

Photo: MIA archive