Third and final report on SPO cases presented online today by OSCE Mission to Skopje
SKOPJE, 20 May 2020 – Today, the OSCE Mission to Skopje published its third and final report on the activities and cases under the former Special Prosecutor’s Office (SPO). The publication includes recommendations to judicial actors, the legislative and the executive branches, with the aim to tackle the issues identified in the report in order to improve the efficiency and fairness of judicial proceedings.
The report focuses on the findings from trial monitoring from the perspective of international fair trial standards. It covers the period between 1 December 2018 and 15 January 2020. Two interim reports were published in August 2018 and June 2019.
“The SPO was created in September 2015 to shed light on a wiretap scandal that led the country into a deep political crisis. Even though the cases are no longer prosecuted by the SPO, the Mission continues with its monitoring because we believe that the presence of observers in the courtroom enhances the transparency of the proceedings and helps build public trust in the criminal justice system,” said Clemens Koja, Head of the OSCE Mission to Skopje, during the online presentation.
The president of the Criminal Court in Skopje, Judge Ivan Djolev added: “The report, prepared by the OSCE Mission, is an extremely important roadmap showing where we should strive for as a judiciary. We highly value this analytical report, and the recommendations addressed to the Prosecution Office, the defence attorneys and the Court, but also to the legislature and executive authorities, which are of essential importance. The report praises the Criminal Court judges for properly handling the cases initiated by the SPO, but at the same time, we also accept criticism, which would help us improve performance in accordance with legal provisions and the Court’s competences.”
The report, available online here, is part of a project financed through extra-budgetary contributions provided by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and the Embassies of Canada and the Netherlands.