Strengthening Judicial Council's Supervision of Court Transparency (MK0206)

Which public issue does the commitment address?

The new provision in Macedonian legal framework, according to Article 92, paragraph 1, point 5 of the Law on the Judicial Council, introduces an innovation. This provision states that the Judicial Council assesses whether the presidents of the courts consistently take care of their relations with the public. The Judicial Council should do this by inspecting the websites of the courts, specifically by reviewing the announcements, decisions, analyses, and reports that are published. Additionally, the Judicial Council should evaluate whether the president of the court is handling requests for free access to public information appropriately. At the end of 2019, the Judicial Council adopted a new Working Order, but monitoring of court websites has not yet begun. To monitor the court websites and evaluate the work of the presidents, specific procedural rules need to be established for this purpose (such as which employee or organizational unit within the Judicial Council of North Macedonia will conduct the inspection of court websites, how this individual/unit will report findings to the Judicial Council, how members of the Judicial Council will assess whether the president of a specific court has acted in accordance with the law, etc.).

Main goal

- Strengthening the active role of the Judicial Council in monitoring the provision of transparency by the presidents of the courts in their relations with the public. -Preparation of new acts for internal organization and systematization of workplaces in accordance with the new Work Guide of the Judicial Council of North Macedonia.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the problem?

The commitment envisages activities that are entirely aimed at increasing the transparency of the courts through the introduction of a system of monitoring the work of the presidents of the courts in RNM through the web pages of the courts.

Why is this commitment relevant?

The commitment includes activities aimed at increasing the transparency of the courts by introducing a monitoring system for the work of court presidents in North Macedonia through the websites of the courts.

Additional Information

In connection with Goal 16 "Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions" Target 16.6: Develop effective, accountable, and transparent institutions at all levels. This commitment is important for improving the public accountability of the Judicial Council of the Republic of North Macedonia by enhancing the rules and mechanisms that ensure accountability of members of the Judicial Council and employees in actively ensuring transparency in the judiciary.

Milestones | Indicators (enter measurable indicators/criteria for monitoring and verifying the achievement) | Activity Implementer (Courts, judiciary institutions, NGOs, or other) | Start date - End date

2.1.1 Developing a methodology for evaluating the presidents of the courts regarding their public relations and transparency in their work. | Adopted Methodology and Other Regulations (Rules, Procedures) for Evaluating Presidents of Courts by the Judicial Council of the Republic of North Macedonia. | Judicial Council of North Macedonia | 02.2024 - 06.2024

2.1.2 Qualitative definition of scoring the criterion of public relations and transparency in operation | Adopted Methodology and other regulations (Rules, Procedures) for evaluating the websites of the courts by the Judicial Council of North Macedonia (JCNM) | Judicial Council of North Macedonia | 06.2024 - 09.2024

2.1.3 Preparation of standard operating procedures and definition of process maps for monitoring the websites of the courts, i.e., for evaluating the work of the presidents regarding relations with the public and transparency in operations. | Implemented methodology and other regulations (rules, procedures) for evaluating the websites of the courts by the Judicial Council of North Macedonia. | Judicial Council of North Macedonia | 09.2024 - 12.2024