Constitutional Court of North Macedonia reports record initiatives amid transparency push

At an international conference in Ohrid focused on strengthening trust in constitutional courts, officials discussed the need for judicial independence and increased transparency to bridge the gap between courts and citizens.

Darko Kostadinovski, President of the Constitutional Court of North Macedonia, reported a record number of initiatives submitted to the Court in the first half of this year, suggesting growing public engagement. He noted that the Court is working to increase openness by live-streaming sessions and having judges personally explain decisions to the public to demonstrate that rulings are based strictly on constitutional and legal arguments.

Experts at the conference, including Stefan Pirner from the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation, emphasized the need for North Macedonia to adopt a comprehensive constitutional complaint mechanism. This would allow citizens to directly protect their human rights when the state violates them, aligning the country with many neighboring European nations.