MACEDONIA: SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS ON JUDICIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000476 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SCE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV NATO MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: SLOW BUT STEADY PROGRESS ON JUDICIAL REFORMS REF: STATE 83552 (NOTAL) SUMMARY ¶1. (SBU) Since independence in 1991, Macedonia has demonstrated slow but steady progress on judicial reforms. In Freedom House's "Judicial Framework and Independence Ratings for 2006," Macedonia currently ranks number two in the region, behind only NATO and EU member Bulgaria, and well ahead of the average score for the region. The country continues to make headway implementing the 2004 National Strategy for Reform of the Judicial System, but the government faces key obstacles that hamper additional reform efforts, including limited fiscal and human resources, excessive political interference in the judiciary, and low levels of public trust in the judicial system. The GOM also must overcome the challenges of enhancing cooperation across party lines on judicial reforms, and of strengthening coordination between judicial institutions. End summary. JUDICIAL REFORMS AND NATO MEMBERSHIP ¶2. (U) In our meetings with Macedonian officials over the past two years, we have focused on the importance of judicial reform progress as a key requirement for NATO membership (reftel). Since independence in 1991, Macedonia has gone through three watershed periods in terms of judicial reforms. In 1996, the new Law on Courts was enacted, which eliminated most specialized courts and created an appellate court system. A second watershed occurred in 2004, with the adoption of the National Strategy for Reform of the Judicial System, followed by constitutional amendments in 2005 that paved the way for implementation of that Strategy. RESULTS COUNT -- IMPROVED FREEDOM HOUSE SCORES ¶3. (U) Since the enactment of the Law on Courts in 1996, Macedonia has demonstrated slow but steady progress on judicial reforms, as measured by independent institutions. According to the 2006 Freedom House "Judicial Framework and Independence Ratings," Macedonia ranked 4.25 (on a scale of 1 to 7, 1 being best) in 1997, putting it in the same league as Romania and Bulgaria. By 2004, that score had risen to 4.00, putting Macedonia slightly ahead of Romania (4.24). Two years later, the rating had improved further, to 3.75, putting Macedonia ahead of fellow NATO membership candidates Croatia (4.25) and Albania (4.25),and ahead of Romania (4.00). Macedonia's 3.75 also puts it well ahead of the 4.17 average score for the region in 2006. IMPLEMENTING THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABILITY -- RESULTS HERE, TOO ¶4. (U) The National Strategy for Reform of the Judicial System focuses on three major goals: strengthening the independence of the judiciary, providing adequate and ethnically balanced human resources to staff the courts, and enhancing the efficiency of the courts. Since the Strategy was adopted, with USAID and DOJ assistance, the criminal code and criminal procedure laws have been amended, and 15 of 19 laws required to strengthen the judicial system have been enacted. ¶5. (U) In pilot court projects, the backlog of cases older than three years has been reduced by 52 percent, while the backlog for cases older than one year has been cut by 37 percent. Several thousand court executives and administrative staff have completed training designed to enhance customer-service, case flow management, and court security, among others. COMMENT: POSITIVE TRAJECTORY, BUT KEY CHALLENGES REMAIN ¶6. (SBU) Despite some measured successes, Macedonia's judicial reform process is hampered by an inadequate budget for the judiciary, by excessive political influence in the judiciary, and by limited human capacity as well as inadequate use of technology in the courts. Further undermining judicial reforms is the extremely low level of public trust in the judiciary, among the lowest-ranked of all government institutions here. In the coming weeks, we will SKOPJE 00000476 002 OF 002 press the GOM to focus on passing the remaining laws under the National Strategy, including the Law on the Public Prosecutor. We also will push for full implementation of the Law on Courts, and the full formation of the 15-member State Judicial Council, which plays an important watchdog role for the judiciary. One promising development in this regard is the government's acceptance this week of opposition SDSM's offer to meet to discuss the way forward on the judicial reform process. MILOVANOVIC