Documents: Judiciary - Professionalism, competence, efficiency

The number of detained persons in 2021 (388) is continuously increasing compared to the previous years (2020 – 317, 2019 – 225). There is a slight decrease in the number of detained children in 2021 (55) compared to the same period in 2020 (76). The average period that children spent in detention in RTC Vinojug is 29 days and the maximum is 50 days. In most cases, legal guardian was appointed to the unaccompanied detained children. However sometimes there was a delay in the timely appointment of a guardian. In 2021 the persons were detained at three locations in RC Gazi Baba, RTC Vinojug and RTC Tabanovce. Migrants at RTC Vinojug who were detained as witnesses in the proceedings against the smugglers continued to be held in quarantine before being brought in front of a public prosecutor.

The monitoring report on the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Plan “Action 21” and the National Strategy for Prevention of Corruption and Conflict of Interest, in the period from March to December 2021 was prepared under the project “Monitoring of National Actions for Combating Corruption”, in order to assess the level of implementation of these documents and to show the open issues, gaps and shortcomings in the implementation of the steps planned.

This report is a comprehensive overview of the various practices, policies and procedures in relation to the asylum system in Republic of North Macedonia in 2020. The Report emphasizes the key challenges faced by the asylum seekers and the refugees during the asylum procedure and during realization of other rights. In order to produce this document, we used: a) data gathered during representation of asylum seekers, refugee and migrants, persons under subsidiary protection and recognized refugees in North Macedonia; b) data gathered through monitoring of the condition and treatment of the authorized bodies towards the refugees and migrants in the Transit Centers where MYLA has accessible offices and c) data gathered during the attendance in the Reception Center for Asylum Seekers in Skopje. Furthermore, in order to prepare this Report, we gathered public information, as well as numerous available reports and literature.

The right to association and public assembly does not in itself mean only the association of citizens with a physical presence through which they would express dissatisfaction with a certain government decision that affects their rights and interests. In the last few years, there is a trend of increased use of Internet tools through which the citizens of a country can act in the online space just as they would act with a physical presence. In North Macedonia, the trend of using online tools is experiencing its peak with the proclamation of a Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this Analysis is to summarize the International Legal Framework on the freedom of peaceful assembly in the digital era and to present the state obligations. Also, to research the opportunities and challenges of the assemblies in the digital era and the impact of the new technologies in exercising of the right to free assembly. In the same time to make comparison and research on the concept of digitally-med

The reforms conducted under the auspices of the EU negotiations undoubtedly transformed the judiciary accelerated the fight against corruption and improved the system for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms. Although these reforms enabled Croatia to become a member of the EU, their results and outcomes were not entirely in line with expectations. Moreover, in the case of Croatia like in many other Central and East European EU member states, it is evident and clearly visible that after the EU conditionality had passed many of the started reforms were not finalised due to changes of political priorities or were reversed (either by changing or choosing not to implement the current policies).

This Report following the implementation of the Strategy is structured in line with the plan for monitoring the implementation and for assessment of the results of the 2017-2022 Strategy for Reform of the Judicial Sector, using citizen-oriented indicators, i.e., indicators facilitating the assessment of the interaction of citizens with justice system institutions, as well as the degree of attainment of strategic goals, guidelines, measures, and activities envisaged under the Strategy. The Project Partnership Justicia: Regaining the Citizens’ Trust introduced citizen-oriented indicators for monitoring and assessing the implementation of the Strategy with a view to promoting the rule of law principle and prompting a greater human rights approach and focus within justice system institutions. Such indicators help measure the results of the 2017-2022 Strategy for Reform of the Judicial Sector from the human rights perspective and from the viewpoint of the Strategy’s effects on citizens, aga

The analysis of the quality and uniformity of court decisions in civil cases prepared by Dusko Georgievski, includes 88 anonymized decisions from the four appellate areas adopted in the period from 2017 to 2020 (with the exception of one, which was adopted in early 2021 ). Each of the decisions was analyzed separately, based on the criteria set out in the specially developed Methodology for analysis of the quality and uniformity of court decisions. The main goal of the analysis is on the one hand, through quantitative indicators to make a qualitative assessment of the decisions made in the given period at the level of all four appellate areas and at the national level to determine whether there are any weaknesses that are characteristic according to this criterion for a certain area of ​​appeal. While, on the other hand, in the area of ​​uniformity of court decisions, to determine whether attention is paid to the balance between equality of people before the law and legal certainty

Judicial decisions shall be drafted in an accessible, simple, and clear language. Judges shall issue reasoned decisions, pronounced in public within a reasonable time, based on fair and public hearing. Judges shall use appropriate case management methods. In pursuance with the ECtHR case-law, the reasoning must contain a specific and explicit reply to key importance arguments, submissions and claims, which are decisive for the outcome of the proceedings, i.e., for the adoption of the court decision. The purpose of this analysis is to contribute to improving the quality of court decisions in the civil cases, to improve the procedure itself, as well as to contribute to improving the uniformity of decisions in order to respond to citizens’ expectations with regard to their right to a fair and just trial and access to justice.