Second session of Working Group 3 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights
“Effective measures in fighting corruption in Macedonia”
Recommendations:
1. Urgent formation of the New Anti-Corruption Body comprised of the most competent professionals whose level of knowledge in this field and the integrity of their personality is at the same, or higher level, than the professional and expert level of those who control them.
2. In case of possible revision of the anti-corruption legislation, one should explicitly foresee control mechanisms and bases of responsibility of the members of this body in the event of failure to act or abuse the office.
3. Having in mind the insufficient transparency of the public prosecutor’s office and some of the courts in the Republic of Macedonia, which is crucial for the return of citizens’ trust to the institutions, it is proposed that there be regular and timely publication of court and public prosecution decisions, in accordance with the relevant legislation. In the same context, it is also proposed to regularly inform the general public about the processing of specific cases in these institutions.
4. In context of corruption prevention in the judiciary, it is proposed that the relevant laws prohibit and sanction all forms of influence and pressure on judges and public prosecutors as such.
5. According to the amendments to the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers (February 2018), it is recommended that the Ministry of Justice, – being responsible for supervising the implementation of the Law, undertake the following activities: 1. To determine whether the public institutions / authorities have already established authorized officers for receiving reports from whistleblowers, and, 2. To determine whether the relevant legal acts are publicly available to the employees in the institutions, that is, the legal entities.
6. It is necessary to establish clear procedures and determine the competence within the institutions for practical implementation of the protection of the whistleblowers. To this end, it is necessary to revise other relevant laws in order to have amendments to ensure consistency between them and the Law on Protection of Whistleblowers.
7. Given the insufficient number of judgments relating to high corruption cases, it is recommended to create mechanisms for reevaluation of the work of judges and public prosecutors processing such cases. In this context, as part of the current judicial reform, it is recommended to provide for such corresponding provisions in the Law on Courts and the Law on Public Prosecution.