The members of the Judicial Council, elected in the Parliament, as well as the Republic Public Prosecutor Ljupčo Kocevski, have not responded to the call of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski to resign, after VMRO-DPMNE MPs submitted interpellations for the five members of the Council, and the Government has initiated a procedure for the prosecutor's dismissal as "the main culprits for the low trust in the judiciary."

The Judicial Council sided with the colleagues who were being asked to resign and, in response to the public, expressed concern about the statements made by the holders of the highest state government positions, as these statements directly affect citizens' perception of the work of the Judicial Council and the judiciary.

"Any attempt to undermine the independence of the judiciary through pressure of any kind and by anyone against members of the Judicial Council and judges represents a direct threat to the independence and democracy of the state and the rule of law."

In every legal state, the independence of the judiciary is one of the fundamental pillars for guaranteeing legality, justice and protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens.

"Members of the Judicial Council and judges must be free from any form of pressure and influence in order to decide independently and autonomously, and in this regard, the Judicial Council appeals to all holders of public office to consistently respect the Constitution, laws and international agreements ratified in accordance with the Constitution in their work and actions, with the aim of upholding the rule of law and restoring citizens' trust in the system," the Judicial Council's response reads.

Filipche: The roadmap we need to follow is clear

For SDSM leader Venko Filipche, the government's attempt to change members of the Judicial Council and the procedure for dismissing Kocevski is an intrusion into the system and an attempt for total partisanship of the judicial system.

– I want to emphasize that reforms in the judiciary are crucial, first of all because citizens are demanding it in order to restore trust in that system, and I believe that the Government's announcements to intervene in the area of ​​changing members of the Judicial Council, an initiative to replace the public prosecutor, are absolutely not a reform at all, but rather an attempt to partisanize the system.

There is a clear strategy that is in the growth plan that the SDSM government was preparing, this VMRO-DPMNE government, that is, the Prime Minister signed it in Brussels, which clearly sets out the roadmap that should be followed in the European agenda, implementing various segments, amendments to laws to truly reform the Judicial Council and the entire judicial system in our country.

If we deviate from this plan, we risk total partisanship of the judicial system - Filipche said at a briefing with journalists.

He warns that with such steps, the government is intruding into the system itself, changing the members, and considering that the new law on the Judicial Council is still being prepared. Thus, the new members of the Council would be elected under the old Law on the Judicial Council and the reform process would be postponed for six years.

– The government is already consulting on the new law on the Judicial Council of all appellate areas and in this way is intruding into the system itself, changing the members of the Judicial Council who, according to this scenario, would be replaced and new ones elected according to the old law.

Here is the platform for which we need national unification. The greatest need of the state and the citizens is reforms in the judicial system.

There are a series of laws that need to be passed and I call on all parties to do so in the Parliament and to follow the roadmap of reforms, according to the European agenda, in order to make a real reform of the judicial system, and not additional partisanship.

There is no reason not to follow the outlined and confirmed path, which the Government signed in Brussels in order to reform the entire judicial system.

As a party, we will support all reform laws that stem from the plan, anything else is an intrusion into the system and gross partisanship - said Filipche.

He did not comment on Kocevski's expertise, but said that replacing some people with others is an additional risk for partisanship.

– I believe that also, after the system for announcing changes to the members of the Judicial Council, this is also a matter of partisanship of the system. I absolutely do not want to comment on anyone's expertise and knowledge of how they do their job, especially in the area of ​​the independent judiciary. However, I absolutely believe that anything that deviates from the reform agenda and the growth plan is not a real reform. Replacing some people with others is not a real reform, and it is additionally a risk of partisanship – added Filipche.

Regarding the amendments to the Criminal Code that were passed during the rule of SDSM and DUI, which saved a large number of former officials, and for which the Constitutional Court initiated proceedings, he said that they had already stated their position when they said that these amendments, which caused irreparable damage to the legal system, were a mistake.

– We believe that a new criminal code should be adopted, which is already being drafted, which was worked on with international experts and which is compatible with European law.

I believe that this should also be part of this package of laws and everything that is passed in the Parliament will mean a real reform of the judicial system.

Let me repeat, we support the drafting of the new law, drafted with experts, both ours and foreign.

The last information we have is that it has been sent to Brussels to get an opinion. I believe that we should pass that law – believes the president of the opposition SDSM.

VMRO-DPMNE: Kocevski protects SDSM and DUI officials

VMRO-DPMNE, on the other hand, maintains its position that Kocevski should resign and accuses him of protecting SDSM and DUI officials.

– Ljupčo Kocevski, as head of the Public Prosecutor's Office, did not find it necessary to open a case against Artan Grubi while he was in power, even though the entire public and the media spoke loudly about the suspicions of crime.

Kocevski did not lift a finger even about the crimes in REK Bitola and ESM, where millions of euros of public money were pumped out through shady tenders. While SDS was robbing the state, Ljupco Kocevski remained silent.

Now, after Kocevski was given free rein to act, and was given full support from the institutions, he tried in every way to drag out the proceedings - say VMRO-DPMNE.

The government has decided to initiate a procedure for Kocevski's dismissal and has tasked the Ministry of Justice with preparing a proposal for Kocevski's dismissal. However, after two or three days, the Ministry has still not published the proposal that should be submitted to the Council of Public Prosecutors.

The Council should give its opinion on the proposal, but their opinion is not binding on the Government, so the Assembly, where VMRO-DPMNE has a majority of MPs, will decide on Kocevski's dismissal.