The Center for legal research and analyses promoted the policy papers, that derivates from the findings of the implementation of the First National Report on the Judicial indicator Matrix for measuring the performance and reform of the judiciary.
On the 25 of November in hotel Radica in Mavrovo, the professor Gordana Lazetikj together with the judges and court staff discussed about the problems they are facing within their daily court workings. The focus of the discussion was concerning the status and work conditions of the court administration. They pointed out that the latest Law on court administration is inadequate and affects the motivation of court staff, especially because of the fact that they are made equable with the status of the administrative staff and have no opportunities for further promotion. They concluded that in order to improve the efficiency of the judiciary, the legal provisions regarding the status of the judicial service must be amended and it is necessary to start evaluating the court administration as well.
At the presentation before the courts from the appellate area Stip which was held on December 5th, the discussion continued in the direction of the status of the court service, they pointed out that they face with a lack of sufficient number of trainings and materials for professional promotion. Therefore, they mentioned the increased number of misdemeanor cases as an issue, as well as the cases of inheritance proceedings that are considered as cases under the jurisdiction of the court. It was recommended to consider creating a model decision following the example of the Law on Administrative Disputes, as well as to help unify the structure of the court decisions.
Through a wide discussion, judges debated the most important issues they face, such as the necessity for mapping and specialization of judicial staff. Discussing the status of professional staff, they noted that inadequate employment and the lack of evaluation and promotion of the court administration make their work more difficult. The judges pointed out that a challenge in their work is the way of evaluation and promotion of the judges as a crucial aspect of the independence of the judges, the functioning of the AKMIS system, as well as the issue of criteria and qualifications in the selection process of judges in the AJPP.
In the recent period, the CLRA has discussed the main recommendations of the policy papers with the judges of the basic courts of each appellate area. The specific recommendations that will be part of the improvement plan will be discussed before the appellate courts and the Supreme Court. The purpose is to transform the specific recommendations into amendments in the legal framework, but also the practice of the courts. The documents emerged from the first national application of the Matrix of Judicial Reform Indicators.
The preparation of policy papers and their promotion are supported by the British Embassy Skopje within the program “Improving the transparency, legal certainty and efficiency of the judiciary in North Macedonia” implemented by the Center for Legal Research and Analysis.
