Skopje, 11 November 2024 (MIA) - The quality of the legal framework should ensure clarity, push innovations and support long-term growth. As we face new challenges, either resulting from technological change or the impact on environment, our legal framework must adapt without endangering the fundamental values of justice, human rights and freedoms, Justice Minister Igor Filkov told international conference "Legal Competitiveness - Instruments of Law for a more Competitive Europe" in Budapest on Monday.

In his address at the conference, organized within the Hungarian EU Presidency, Minister Filkov referred to the challenges and novelties of the digital era and judiciary reforms, the Ministry of Justice said in a press release.

"From the first day in office, we have launched the reforms to set up an independent judicial system based on comprehensive analyses, public debates with experts and civil society, and we aspire to gradually reach the desired effects and results. Judiciary reforms and its legal framework are implemented in line with the Sectoral Development Strategy 2024-2028," said Filkov.

He spoke about deregulation, noting that in law, it is achieved only through the application of a quality legal framework, as the main task of courts and judges.

"The quality of the legal framework should ensure clarity, push innovations and support long-term growth. As we face new challenges, either resulting from technological change or impact on environment, our legal framework must adapt without endangering the fundamental values of justice, human rights and freedoms. The process of deregulation tasks systems with setting minimum common rules that would enable cooperation, leading to strengthened economies while protecting competitiveness," said Filkov.

On the country's Euro-integration path and the enlargement process, the Justice Minister expressed hope that common interests would rise above national interests of certain member-states, thus moving to the next stage of the negotiations and the opening of the first cluster.

"I come from a country and am part of a nation that has aspired to integrate into the Union, to which it belongs, for 20 years now. Along this path, we have faced series of challenges and prerequisites that have to be fulfilled, which is expected. However, putting our personal feeling of belonging as a nation on the level of a bilateral obstacle to our European prospects goes against the ideas and values that the European Union rests on," said Filkov.

According to him, it is inevitable to adapt the process of creating a legal framework and its putting into practice.

"We are living in dynamic times, the political reality is changing, and in this context it is an imperative to adapt the process of setting up a legal framework, especially considering the September report by Mario Draghi on the future of European competitiveness, which points to the fact it is not about deregulation but striking the right balance between caution and innovations, as well as ensuring a consistent application of regulations across Europe," said Filkov.

Photo: Ministry of Justice