Skopje, 21 October 2025 (MIA) - Over 900 people are currently under probation measures, and the system has the capacity for many more, said participants ahead of a working meeting on "Probation and Parole", held on Tuesday at the Pavel Shatev Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors in Skopje.

Head of the Directorate for the Execution of Sanctions, Aleksandar Pandov, pointed out that probation has existed as a legal mechanism in the country for six years, though it is used infrequently.

"It is alive, but it has a much greater capacity and those conditional releases should be much more frequent and longer. Figures show that there are 430 convicts with A treatment and 330-40 with B2 treatment in Macedonian courts. I am not saying that all of them, but most of those convicts can be on conditional release, of course, with a prior recommendation from the resocialization sector in prisons and from the heads of Macedonian prisons," Pandov told reporters ahead of the event.

He also pointed to the economic aspect of the problem, noting that one convict costs state budget about EUR 1,000 per month, as well as human resources.

Pandov noted that cooperation with non-governmental organizations is active, and probation measures are monitored according to the type of offense - from domestic violence to drug abuse. He said there are over 100 requests for termination of probation, mostly due to non-compliance with recommendations by convicts.

President of the Judicial Council, Aleksandar Kambovski, highlighted the importance of resocialization.

“With this step, we are doing a positive thing in promoting parole and probation. The purpose of punishment is not always the punishment itself, but also the resocialization and rehabilitation of perpetrators of criminal acts, and of course, conditional release plays a very important role in that direction,” he said.

Head of the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors, Irina Trajkoska Strezoski, highlighted the Academy’s role.  

“The Academy is here to provide support to the courts and judges who are working on these alternative measures and sanctions, of course also in terms of the education process,” she said.

Presidents of criminal departments of the courts of appeal, presidents of basic courts, and judges working on parole attended Tuesday’s event.

Photo: MIA