NEWS OF THE DAY – Cleansing of the judiciary and open lists already at the local elections
A time for order, justice and discipline is coming. The laws have been adopted, now is the time for their swift and consistent implementation. Those who do not want to respect the law, will face the law. And we as the government, will be a partner of all stakeholders in the legislative, executive and judicial branch, as well as civil society, media and interest groups that want to contribute to building a system of justice that will serve the citizens, stated the Minister of Justice, Bojan Maricic, at today’s press conference on the occasion of receiving the mandate letter from Prime Minister Zoran Zaev.
He pointed out that justice, along with the economy and the European integration, are the government’s top priority in this second mandate.
– The citizens demand justice and expect a swift conclusion to the court cases, the citizens demand equality before the law. Transparent and responsible judiciary and prosecutor’s office are preconditions for a normal functioning of the rule of law. When the public trust in the judiciary is at a low level, it means that the citizens are sceptical and do not trust the court decisions, that they have not provided equality before the law. There must not be untouchables before the law and the institutions, said the Minister of Justice.
The top priority task, as he pointed out, is to carry out deep and essential reforms in the judiciary, that is, to start a process of efficient and objective cleansing of the judiciary.
In parallel to this process, as Maricic announced, the EU monitoring of the high profile court cases is expected to start at the beginning of next year, about 50 cases annually, in which experts from abroad and domestic experts will participate.
Maricic also announced amendments to the Electoral Code with which the principle of open lists will be introduced as early as the next local elections.
CIVIL most strongly condemns the hate speech, spreading of ethnic hatred and calls for lynching that fan groups have been promoting continuously and for years. Specifically, the reason for this strong condemnation is the latest incident with the chanting of the fan group “Komiti” throughout the Center of Skopje on September 13, 2020.
The institutions to urgently, decisively and finally deal with this and appropriately sanction all groups and individuals spreading hatred and calling for violence, is the call that CIVIL has continuously been appealing for years, regardless of which side the hatred is coming from.
CIVIL advocates for a society in which freedom, equality and justice rule, a society in which citizens feel safe and have trust in the institutions, where security, freedom of movement and freedom of expression are guaranteed by law and with efficient functioning of the system.
A society in which certain groups are continuously calling for and committing violence against the citizens cannot be a healthy society. The constant calls for extreme violence by certain groups are a result of the established impunity of the previous government, but also the impunity that has continued even after the fall of the regime.
The radical structures in the country are continuously and without being punished spreading hatred along ethnic, religious and political grounds, as is also yesterday’s case with the parading of a group of fans accompanied with nationalist chanting and hate speech against the Albanians.
NEWS OF THE DAY Maricic: Open lists at local elections next year
– You know that from the current majority and from SDSM specifically, there was determination for establishing one constituency. Still, whether that will happen depends on the will of the others, as it is a systematic change for which there has to be a consensus in order for it to be implemented. If all parties or parties with the most MPs in Parliament agree on this reform, certainly we will incorporate it, stated Maricic.
FLASH NEWS
Parliament forms working bodies- Even though the agenda for the session was adopted, in the debate on this item, the opposition MPs again pointed out that the procedure is being violated and that the voting is for a personal composition before the Parliament previously at a parliamentary session decides on their forming and defining of competencies.
Border crossing- Agreement for opening the border crossing Lojane – Mirotovac has been signed, but infrastructure activities have been postponed due to COVID-19.
Condemnation for fans – The government today at a session brought a conclusion with which it most strongly condemns the improper behaviour of the fan group that, as pointed out, provokes hatred, discord and intolerance on ethnic grounds.
Roaming – The Agency for Electronic Communications (AEK) has adopted the necessary regulations for domestic operators that are to be part of the future regulation for roaming services between the Western Balkan countries that is to be applied from July 1 next year, when the charges for calls and data use between the six countries are to be completely terminated.
