"Fresh blood" in the judiciary - should come from the professional associates
In the midst of the tirade of negative assessments of the judiciary by the executive branch, the Parliament amended the Law on Labor Relations. To address the shortage of judges and public prosecutors, the legislature, by amending the Law on Labor Relations, allowed judges and public prosecutors, by personal declaration, to retire at 64 instead of 67. Judges and prosecutors had such a right until now, but it was not regulated in the Law on Labor Relations, but in the "lex specialis" laws that regulate their activities. For some of the experts consulted by "Sloboden Pechat", the solution is good, while for others it is just a temporary Band-Aid that is stuck on a wound that is bleeding deeply and will soon need to be truly repaired, and not just by buying time.
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The MPs who proposed the now-passed law (through a shortened procedure) explained that they thus expect "a quick and timely overcoming of the problem of the shortage of judges and public prosecutors and improvement of court procedures as well as citizens' access to justice."
But not everyone agrees with the way judges are selected in the country.
-The Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors is a failure. It should be abolished. Judges should be elected from among the professional associates. They are the most capable people, and electing party candidates and party judges is not good. Do you know how many professional associates cannot enter the Academy and compete for judges? I have always been against the way judges are elected through the Academy, because it did not bring good personnel and did not bring anything good to the judiciary. Good personnel remained in the courts because they were not party-based. What is a "prominent lawyer" should be defined in the Law and judges should be elected from those personnel, not in the Academy. Advisors and professional associates are the pillar that holds the judiciary together, former President of the Supreme Court and long-time judge Dane Iliev told Sloboden Pechat.
According to Iliev, a good solution is to extend the retirement age for judges who want to work until 67 years old.
-That is a good solution because there is a shortage of staff, and those years are years of experience and can only be a good solution in the judiciary. Those who think they are medically fit will submit a request, Iliev adds.
Roman law professor and member of parliament from the "Left" party, Dimitar Apasiev, told "Sloboden Pechat" that judges should not be given the right to have an extended mandate up to 67 years of age, because there are other solutions and ways for the judiciary to be dignified.
-There are more capable people, who are advisors in the judicial service after 20 years and can replace judges. In reality, they do a huge part of the work. I have had a case where a typist tells the judge the article of the law, and the judge does not know it. If they were expanded, if the criteria were opened up, lawyers could also be judges. In my opinion, some of the older judges make mistakes, do not read judgments from Strasbourg (which are original and mandatory law) because they do not know English. Statistically, they are the most corrupt before retirement because they know that by the time they are dismissed, they will already be retired. And finally, we need "fresh blood" in the judiciary, Apasiev believes.
He adds that this is not the way to make fundamental reforms in the judiciary, which has been so heavily criticized by the executive branch and Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
-Is this the way to improve something you criticize? This way is like leaving something moldy in your fridge to rot the other food in your fridge. Keep in mind that new judges have mentors. There is a tendency for corruption infection here, that is, a group of judges who will mentor the new ones and teach them new corrupt practices, added Apasiev.
Apasiev believes that principled candidates are often not elected, in all areas of life, because they will impose high standards of order and work discipline. In the past, he was a supporter of judges being elected by the ranks, but that changed for him when he saw some of the cadres who were elected.
-There is no universal model, but it is necessary to define what a "prominent lawyer" is. Not everyone who graduated from the Faculty of Law can be a "prominent lawyer". Criteria are needed. And it is very important that in Macedonia, judicial immunity is a constitutional category, contrary to the Yugoslav model. In Yugoslavia, the term of office was 9 years, after which the judge is evaluated. After the evaluation, he or she either goes to the Court of Appeal or to the bar. And here, they elected him or her at the age of 30, up to 64 years, and now up to 67 years, Apasiev told us.
Darko Avramovski, executive director of the "All for a Fair Trial Coalition" told "Sloboden Pechat" that extending the term of judges at their request to 67 years is only a temporary solution that buys 3 years in which a long-term strategy for the judiciary must be developed.
-A long-term strategy for recruiting judges is needed because we have more judges retiring than the Academy produces as new staff. If retirement is allowed at 67 instead of 62 (for female judges), it does not mean that they are obliged to do so and the question is how many of them will do so. It is okay as a measure, but it is a very small step, with limited effect and duration, believes Avramovski.
He believes that two things are crucial for judicial reform – increasing the budget of the judiciary and the public prosecution service and increasing the capacities of the Academy. But no less important, Avramovski believes, is to involve high schools and faculties in the promotion of law as a profession.
"The best high school students are leaving, and the competition for the selection of judges and prosecutors is limited. The legal profession needs to be popularized, because this current reputation will discourage students from becoming judges and public prosecutors," added the director of "All for a Fair Trial."
As the members of parliament who proposed that judges and public prosecutors be allowed to work until the age of 67 have noted, Macedonia is facing great distrust in the justice system. They have located the problem of why court proceedings are inefficient in the shortage of judges and public prosecutors. They stated that if the limit is moved to 67 years, "the efficiency of court proceedings and access to justice for citizens will improve."
Namely, the current number of judges and public prosecutors performing the relevant function is almost half the number of judges and public prosecutors envisaged as the required number of judges and public prosecutors in accordance with the by-laws of the Judicial Council and the Council of Public Prosecutors.
In the first half of 2024, the Judicial Council prepared an analysis of the necessary judicial positions, which recorded a huge shortage of judges. It was determined that out of the required 434 judges, 274 judicial positions are currently filled. By the end of 2024, 11 judges retired, and by the end of 2025, 15 judges will retire, and by the end of 2026, another 14 judges, or a total of 2026 judges will retire by the end of 40. This further threatens the situation in the judiciary. In certain cities such as Krusevo and Berovo, there is not a single judge.
The evaluation reports of the judicial systems of the member states of the Council of Europe prepared by the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEJ) have noted a trend of decreasing case clearance rates and increasing days required to resolve cases in civil, criminal and administrative cases in the country. According to the 2024 Report on Macedonia by the European Commission, the increasing deficit of human resources in the judiciary raises concerns about the impact on the quality and efficiency of justice.
The staffing situation in the public prosecution office is significantly worse. According to the systematization, the number of public prosecutors should be 287, but 183 positions have been filled. In Kriva Palanka, Resen, Berovo, there is not a single public prosecutor.
In addition, in order to fill the vacancies in the courts and public prosecutor's offices according to the provisions of the Law on Courts and the Law on Public Prosecutor's Office, a person who has completed the necessary training at the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors may be elected as a judge of a basic court and a public prosecutor in a basic public prosecutor's office. The process of entering the Academy, training, taking exams and selection in practice takes several years.
