Supreme Court overturns Jakimovski illegal construction verdict

The Supreme Court of North Macedonia has overturned the previous verdicts against former Karposh Mayor Stevcho Jakimovski regarding charges of illegal construction. The court annulled the decisions made by both the Basic Criminal Court of Skopje and the Appellate Court of Skopje, ordering a retrial at the first-instance level.

The Supreme Court ruled that lower courts failed to establish the specific nature of the structure in question. Specifically, it was not determined whether the object was a permanent structure requiring a building permit or a temporary/modular object that only requires placement approval.

The court emphasized that the legal status of the crime depends on the technical characteristics, materials, and intended use of the structure. Because the lower courts did not clearly categorize the object, the court found that all essential elements of the criminal offense of ‘illegal construction’ had not been definitively proven, leading to the decision to return the case for further proceedings.