Skopje, 30 January 2025 (MIA) - A poll on beneficiaries' satisfaction from judicial services shows that the overall rating for the performance of courts is at 3.1. Skopje-based courts are rated slightly lower. Citizens gave the lowest rating, i.e. 2, for case processing time, and the highest, i.e. 4, for the judicial police.

The survey was conducted in December 2024 by the Coalition 'All For Fair Trials', based on 1100 respondents, and covers various aspects including access to courts, quality of services, openness and transparency, and the fight against corruption. Responses refer to the Basic Criminal Court Skopje, Basic Civil Court Skopje, Appellate Court Skopje, and the Supreme Court.

Darko Avramovski from the Coalition 'All For Fair Trials' presented the survey results on Thursday, noting that access to courts is generally good, but there is a need to improve public transportation to courts and signage in court buildings.

"The overall rating for the performance of courts is 3.1. Citizens rate courts slightly lower than other bodies. Compared to other bodies, their rating is 2.9. The work of the courts is not perceived by citizens as any worse than the work of any other body," he said. 

In terms of quality of judicial services, respondents gave an average rating of 3.4 for court officers and 3.5 for judges.

On the fight against corruption, 40 percent of citizens believe that there is corruption in the courts, as per experiences of relatives and friends. Nine percent of respondents stated they had been asked for a bribe for a court service.

The survey has shown that citizens are satisfied with the transparency of the Basic Civil Court, which received the highest rating, followed by the Basic Criminal Court. However, there is dissatisfaction with the way court decisions are written and the response time.

President of the Association of Judges of North Macedonia, Ivan Dzholev, noted that the courts have handled 755,000 cases, which, according to him, shows that citizens trust the judicial system.

"These figures show that we have a functional judicial system," said Dzholev.

He added that such surveys should be a guide in promoting the economy and efficiency of procedures, as well as transparency and increasing citizens' trust in the judiciary.

According to Minister of Justice, Igor Filkov, the survey results are devastating.

"The numbers are within the expected and are poor. Let's analyse them, review them and see how to proceed, this is devastating," he said.

Photo: MIA