Skopje, 31 August 2024 (MIA) – Collective responsibility as a bad precedent could push us in a labyrinth we couldn’t get out of for a long time, Constitutional Court President Darko Kostadinovski warns in an interview with MIA when asked about the government’s announced plans to dissolve the Judicial Council and the Council for Public Prosecutors.

“Almost always, without exception, individual responsibility on any basis, be it corruption, trade of influence, abuse of office, etc, within any body, I am confident will have a better effect in increasing the principles of responsibility in general, it will positively affect public trust and the legal state compared to collective responsibility, which as a bad precedent that could push us in a labyrinth we couldn’t get out of for a long time,” he stresses. 

Speaking to MIA, Kostadinovski says the national legislation to a great extent has been aligned with the European legislation. 

“I think there are constitutional and legal ways and mechanisms to address bad things both in the judiciary and in any other area without stepping away from the constitutional frameworks. It requires will and responsible approach. What I believe is far more important than possible reforms regarding new constitutional and legal solutions, is the reforms of the mental code. We need a reform of mentality that will include the constitutional, legal, judicial, political and institutional culture,” says Kostadinovski.

He adds that he would like a situation to be avoided in which those proposing the reforms will be supported by the citizens, but the Constitutional Court will be perceived as an obstacle if it concludes that the possible novelties are problematic from a constitutional point of view.

“It’s simple. I hope both the government and the legislators will stick to the Constitution and its fundamental values on this matter and on any other, such as separation of power in the concrete case. On the other hand, our Constitution in Article 58 defines expertise and competence as a constitutional principle. It’s clear that if a majority of our citizens support changes, they should be address. However, collective responsibility of whole bodies in a legal state is extremely problematic,” Kostadinovski tells MIA.

Photo: MIA