The President of the Constitutional Court, Darko Kostadinovski, commented on the latest report of the European Commission, expressing concern about the long-standing "status quo" situation in the legal system. He criticized the Parliament for ignoring the decisions of the Constitutional Court and warned that if the necessary changes are not made, the court will make final decisions.
Kostadinovski referred to the controversial laws on the balancer, changes to the Criminal Code and the Law on the Use of Languages, announcing deadlines and possible steps for their resolution.
"The latest report does not determine progress in certain areas, especially in the judiciary, the fight against corruption, crime. However, it does not determine regression either. We have been in a "status quo" situation for a long time, and this is not good at all. Citizens have complete distrust in the entire state apparatus," he said in an appearance on Telma TV.
Regarding the two laws for which the EC has observations, specifically regarding the balancer, Kostadinovski informed that a new Law on Fair Representation has been prepared and is currently being evaluated by the Venice Commission.
"I hope that this law is in line with our legal positions on the removal of the balancer. That is, to achieve a balance between fair and appropriate representation and what merit, expertise and competence mean," he emphasized.
Meanwhile, regarding the amendments to the Criminal Code, which are also an observation of the EC, he said that they caused "irreparable damage" to the legal order and announced that if Parliament does not make the necessary changes by the last court session in December, the Constitutional Court will put the matter on the agenda and decide.
"The six-month deadline expired in August. We had an understanding as a Court for the electoral process, because such big things are not appropriate to do. But the elections are over. We as a Court, so I as the president, am obliged to maintain the credibility of the Constitutional Court. We cannot allow the Parliament to continue indefinitely with a practice of constitutional indiscipline. The Parliament is obliged, if it respects the Constitution, and it is obliged to respect it, to respect our decisions, because our decisions based on the Constitution are final, enforceable and generally binding. But the Parliament has not done this up to this point," says Kostadinovski.
As he explained, repealing the Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code means that the old legal rule will not return to force, as this would be a call for impunity, while cancellation would mean a return to the old one.
Regarding the Law on the Use of Languages, Kostadinovski announced that by the end of the month he will request an opinion from the reporting judge, and the case will be presented in session by February at the latest.
He called on Parliament to complete the composition of the Constitutional Court in order to avoid unresolved decisions with a score of 4-4.
