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

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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