Tupancheski: Advisory body to be set up soon on use of names of historical figures
Skopje, 3 October 2022 (MIA) – Justice Minister Nikola Tupancheski said Monday until a new Law on Associations and Foundations is passed, the Government decided to set up an ad hoc body in an attempt to somehow bypass the current vacuum, which is becoming more and more unpleasant, adding that the country must be prepared for any future potential provocation.
Asked whether the opening of a new Bulgarian cultural club in Ohrid will be allowed under the name "Tsar Boris" without an opinion of the advisory body on the use of historical figures in the names of associations, Tupanchevski said announcements are as such, but unfortunately, the Ministry of Justice practically doesn’t have any powers, because it is a matter of a government commission.
“I heard there is such an announcement, the commission has been formed and at the last session some technical aspects were discussed. It is not a commission within the Ministry of Justice, but it is a government commission. I believe their constitutive session will be held soon, because the names are known and the commission should start working, i.e. it should rise to its task,” Tupancheski told reporters after the first academic class at the Faculty of Law in Skopje on Monday.
As regards whether the commission will review cases retroactively, Tupancheski said his opinion, both as a professor and as Justice Minister, in terms of certain "retroactions", is that it should be done through other institutions.
“You know that when it comes to this hyper-sensitive sphere, there are other institutions where any hate speech, negative feelings should be sanctioned in some way, and all this is contained in the Criminal Code of the Republic of North Macedonia,” said Tupancheski.
