Until the adoption of the new Law on Associations and Foundations, we formed an ad hoc body, wanting to somehow bypass this vacuum, which is becoming more and more unpleasant and we must as a state be prepared for any future potential provocations, the Minister of Justice said today Nikola Tupancheski.

Asked whether the opening of a new Bulgarian Cultural Club in Ohrid under the name "Tsar Boris the Third" will be allowed, without a position from the Advisory Body on the use of names of historical figures in associations, Tupanceski said that the announcements are so, but that, unfortunately, as The Ministry of Justice has practically no powers, because it is a government commission.

- You are witnesses that a month ago we formed the working group or ad hoc body within the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, which should, as an advisory body, give its own opinion about the character of the historical figures that should be an integral part of the name of an association or foundation. I heard that there is such an announcement, the Commission was formed and at the last session some technical aspects were discussed and it is not a Commission within the Ministry of Justice, but it is a government commission. I believe that their constitutive session will be held in a short time, because the names are known and that commission should start working, that is, it should be at the level of the task that has been set before them, said Tupanceski, answering journalist's questions after the end at the first academic class of the Faculty of Law today in Skopje.

Regarding whether the Commission will review the cases retroactively, Tupanchevski said that if we want to do any "retroactions", his opinion, both as a professor and as the Minister of Justice, is that we should do it through other institutions.

- You know that when it comes to this hypersensitive sphere, then there are other institutions where possible hate speech, negative feelings should be sanctioned in some way, and all this is contained in the Criminal Code of the Republic of North Macedonia, Tupanceski said.