Deputy Prime Minister for Good Governance Policies, Slavica Grkovska, and the country’s Chief State Prosecutor, Ljubomir Joveski, stressed the need to bolster the personnel and technical capabilities of the prosecution while ensuring responsible and integrity-driven conduct in a meeting on Monday.

They were joined by Dushica Dimitrieska, President of the Council of Public Prosecutors, prosecutor Gavril Bubevski from the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje, and Natasha Godzoska, public prosecutor at the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje.

The meeting addressed issues related to digitizing prosecution processes, with a focus on the adoption of a new law on archival operations to streamline daily functions. It was emphasized that assistance from donors should be effectively utilized. The creation of an electronic case management system was discussed, aiming to reduce subjectivity in case distribution, while ensuring it aligns with prosecutors’ work specifics.

Insufficient personnel, including prosecutors and IT staff, was highlighted as a challenge, complicating the work of public prosecutors. The meeting called for contributions to the assessment of the current strategy and the formulation of a new strategy for financial investigations and asset confiscation, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the Public Prosecutor’s Office and utilizing asset confiscation in the fight against organized crime and corruption.

Additionally, the meeting addressed the accountability of prosecutors for unprofessional conduct during their duties. Chief State Prosecutor Joveski emphasized the duty of public prosecutors to act in accordance with the law, without bias, fairly, with dedication, and in a timely manner. It was noted that disciplinary measures have been initiated against 12 public prosecutors since the adoption of the prosecution’s new Rulebook in 2021, with five of them facing dismissal.