Filkov: The fight against corruption is not a war against individuals but a battle for institutional justice

The public debate on the draft law amending and supplementing the Law on Prevention of Corruption and Conflict of Interest contributes to advancing the legal framework in the fight against corruption, enables more efficient institutional control and strengthens the efficiency of the State Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, emphasized the participants at today's event in Skopje.

The Minister of Justice, Igor Filkov, believes that the draft law, developed jointly with the OSCE mission and the SCPC, puts Macedonia on the path to the most important reforms - a strong, legal state, the basis for a just and transparent society. For the SCPC, the draft law clarifies the shortcomings and challenges that the commission faced during the implementation of the law. Before the attendees, Filkov emphasized that corruption is the greatest enemy of any democratic and legal state, it destroys institutions and shakes the trust of citizens, reduces the efficiency of public policies. He called on everyone to show determination both in terms of prevention and sanctions for offenders.

For the Minister of Justice, it is not a war against individuals and groups, but a battle for justice, for the honest rule of law, more professional institutions. The reform will also contribute to strengthening gender equality, a specific form of corruption. According to him, the reform is a long-term process, which in partnership with civil society organizations, international partners, all those who want an effective legal system.

In a video address, the Head of the OSCE Mission in Skopje, Ambassador Kilian Wall, emphasized that relevant stakeholders participated in the development of the draft law, and stressed the importance of introducing gender equality reinforcement. For him, the proposed changes reflect and demonstrate a strong commitment to legal certainty and transparency, which are traditional OSCE standards. He invited civil society organizations and relevant stakeholders to participate in the debate, which will be held on March 17 this year.

The Chairperson of the SCPC, Tatjana Dimitrovska, said that the public consultations dedicated to the draft law on amending and supplementing the Law on Prevention of Corruption and Conflict of Interest are important for the Commission from the aspect of inclusiveness and transparency of the process. At the same time, the Commission recognized the need for intervention in this law and re-specification of a large number of provisions, in order to effectively implement and realize the purpose of the law.

The Commission directly implements the law on the prevention of corruption and conflict of interest, has a clearer control of deficiencies, and it is also necessary to re-specify certain terms in the law, the selected category of appointed persons, close persons, family, benefit, private interest, joint household, public body, regular income, etc. During implementation, the Commission has also recognized the need to re-specify and advance the provisions in the law that relate to the Commission's actions, the type of acts, the deadlines for action, expanding the scope of the data bases to which the State Commission should have access, the procedure for determining the non-merger of functions and the harmonization of the provisions on misdemeanor fines.

For the CPJC, it is also important to exchange experiences on the approach to the fight against corruption with anti-corruption bodies from the region and beyond, which is an added value when defining policies and the legal framework for the destruction of corruption.

The consultations were attended by experts representing institutions, civic organizations, the academic community, and the private sector.