Strasbourg, 15 October 2025 (MIA) - Despite several shortcomings, the draft law on the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the draft law on the Council of Public Prosecutors contain a lot of positive features, either new or taken over from the laws currently in force, reads the joint opinion of the Venice Commission and the Directorate General Human Rights and Rule of Law (DGI) of the Council of Europe on the draft laws.

The opinion recommends constitutional amendments towards renewal of the appointment of the Public Prosecutor and the simple majority needed in the Assembly for both the appointment and dismissal of the Public Prosecutor.

"Given the importance of these issues for the autonomy and relative independence of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Venice Commission recommends first and foremost that, in the context of a future constitutional reform, the Constitution also be amended on these points, to no longer provide for the possibility for the Public Prosecutor to be reappointed and to provide for a qualified majority in the Assembly for her/his appointment and dismissal," reads the opinion.

In respect of the draft law on the Council of Public Prosecutors, the Venice Commission recommends reconsidering the duration of professional experience for all lay members of the Council of Public Prosecutors, with a view to uniformising them, and to provide an alternative to the way the four lay members are to be elected pursuant to the draft law, whereby it is to be ensured that the election is based on the merits and integrity of the candidates and favours a diverse representation.

The Venice Commission also proposes that the prosecutorial functions of prosecutors elected to the Council of Public Prosecutors by their peers are suspended for the duration of their term on the Council. 

"To clarify in the commentaries to the draft law (if not the law itself) the concepts 'impacts the autonomy of public prosecutors' or 'neglects or fails to perform their function and duties in the work of the Council' as grounds for dismissal of members of the Council of Public Prosecutors," reads the document.

It also recommends the inclusion of additional safeguards to prevent that critical decisions, including decisions on the pre-term loss of mandate of Council members, are inevitably determined by the prosecutorial majority in the Council.

"To explicitly provide in the draft law that both the prosecutorial and lay members of the Council sit on this body in their individual capacity and that the prosecutorial members of the Council are not subordinated to the Public Prosecutor of the Republic in as far their work in the Council is concerned, and to stipulate that the Public Prosecutor has no voting rights on the Council in certain areas, such as discipline," reads the opinion.

Another recommendation is to provide as a transitional measure that current Council members continue to serve until completion of their existing terms.

In respect of the draft law on the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Venice Commission recommends incorporating managerial and organisational skills in the eligibility criteria for the position of Public Prosecutor, and to clarify in the law that the mandate of the Public Prosecutor can only be renewed once, pending a necessary amendment to the Constitution to prevent reappointment of the Public Prosecutor, and to introduce a cooling-off period precluding immediate re-election.

"To stipulate that any criminal conviction entailing imprisonment terminates the term of office of the Public Prosecutor and prosecutors; to amend the grounds for dismissal of the Public Prosecutor to provide for greater clarity and foreseeability; to require the government to provide a clear reasoning to the Assembly when it deviates from the opinion of the Council of Public Prosecutors on the dismissal of the Public Prosecutor," read the recommendations.

The Venice Commission also recommends providing adequate procedural safeguards for prosecutors under evaluation, and remove two consecutive negative performance evaluations from the list of “most severe disciplinary violations” which could lead to dismissal; to clarify that the accountability of the Public Prosecutor to the Assembly does not extend to individual prosecutorial decisions and prosecutions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In addition, the Venice Commission recommends allowing for lay members of the Council of Public Prosecutor to become President of the Council of Public Prosecutors.

"To broaden one of the conflict-of-interest categories (requiring the recusal of members of the Council of Public Prosecutors) beyond situations in which the prosecutor has participated or is participating in other proceedings against that public prosecutor or candidate for public prosecutor; to delete the phrase 'unless otherwise determined' from the provision on the equality of rights and obligations of members of the Council of Public Prosecutors in the draft law on the Council of Public Prosecutors or to provide a closed list of exceptions to the equality of rights and obligations of members of the Council; to clarify some of the disciplinary grounds in Articles 93 and 94 of the draft law on the Public Prosecutor’s Office as well as the concept of “severe consequences” used in Article 90 of that same draft law," reads the document.

The Venice Commission remains at the disposal of the authorities of North Macedonia for further assistance in this matter.

By letter of 24 July 2025, Justice Minister Igor Filkov requested an opinion of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe on the draft laws, in relation to the intention of the Government of North Macedonia to improve judicial integrity by revising the processes for the recruitment, selection, appointment, appraisal, promotion, transfer and dismissal of judges and prosecutors.

"To this end, in December 2023, the Justice Sector Reform Strategy (2024-2028) was adopted, which sets out various measures aiming inter alia to strengthen the autonomy of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, enhance the role of the Council of Public Prosecutors (in particular in relation to evaluation of prosecutors), reform procedures for the election members to the Council and improve disciplinary proceedings," says the Venice Commission.

It notes that the opinion was drafted on the basis of comments by Venice Commission rapporteurs and the results of the meetings on 1 and 2 September with representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, the Council of Public Prosecutors, the Association of Prosecutors and the Bar Association, as well as with representatives of the EU Delegation in Skopje and several civil society organisations.

MIA file photo