Today, the Council of Public Prosecutors convenes for its 94th session, primarily focused on evaluating candidates who have applied for the position of Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Macedonia. Three candidates, namely Fatime Fetai from the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje, Lidija Raičević from the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje, and Ljupco Kocevski from the Public Prosecutor’s Office of RSM, are under consideration for this appointment.

Per the legal stipulations, the Council of OJ must deliver a positive or negative opinion to the Government within a 15-day period. Subsequently, the Government will propose one of the candidates who received a favorable opinion to the Parliament for final selection.

The decision to appoint a new public prosecutor was initiated after Parliament’s announcement on November 29, following a vote by the MPs.

The current term of State Public Prosecutor Ljubomir Joveski concludes on December 25. At a session last week, the Council of State Prosecutors designated prosecutor Sonja Simovska from the State Public Prosecutor’s Office as the interim executor until the completion of the election process.

As per the Law on Public Prosecution, individuals with at least a decade of continuous work experience as public prosecutors or judges in the realm of criminal law are eligible for the position of public prosecutor.

The appointment of the public prosecutor is the prerogative of Parliament, based on the Government’s recommendation, granting a six-year tenure with the possibility of reappointment. The public prosecutor remains accountable to Parliament for both personal performance and the functionality of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Jovevski assumed the role of state prosecutor on December 25, 2017, succeeding Marko Zvrlevski, who was dismissed in August of the same year.