North Macedonia’s Constitutional Court Reports a Judge for the First Time

A judge from the Skopje Basic Civil Court has been reported by the Constitutional Court to the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Judicial Council for failing to implement one of its rulings. This is the first case of its kind.

The case concerns journalist Natasha Stojanovska and the events of April 27, 2017.

The Constitutional Court had previously ruled that the journalist’s right to freedom of public expression had been violated and ordered the case to be reconsidered.

However, the Basic Civil Court rejected the request to reopen the proceedings, arguing that the Constitutional Court’s ruling could not serve as grounds for such action.

According to the Constitutional Court, this course of action constitutes a failure to comply with its final ruling.

As a result, the new mechanism guaranteeing the implementation of rulings has been invoked for the first time. The mechanism is provided for in the Court’s Act, which has been in effect since September 2024.