Former MP and ex-DOM leader Liljana Popovska has submitted an initiative to the Constitutional Court for an assessment of the constitutionality and lawfulness of the Protocol of the second meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission with Bulgaria of 17 July 2022, in Sofia.
For Plusinfo, she says that the Protocol is a legal act signed by the then-Foreign Ministers of North Macedonia and Bulgaria, on the basis of Article 12 of the 2017 Friendship, Good-Neighbourliness, and Cooperation Treaty with Bulgaria, adding that the she has requested that the Protocol be declared invalid due to violations of 14 Articles of the Law on Conclusion, Ratification, and Implementation of International Agreements, two articles of the Foreign Affairs Law, and three articles of the constitution.
When it comes to the Constitution aspect, Popovska says there is a violation of Article 8 with regards to the free expression of national identity, respecting generally accepted norms of international law, and fundamental rights and freedoms of people and citizens.
The ex-MP considers that the Protocol hasn’t passed the filter from the standpoint of agreeing, adoption by the Government, signing, ratification by Parliament, and publication in the Official Gazette. In addition, the former DOM leader stresses that the Protocol isn’t a valid document from a legal standpoint due to at least seven legal violations.
In her view, it’s important to officially determine that the document is invalid, which should then be followed by a transparent and legally founded process for a new and legally valid protocol for implementation of the Friendship Treaty that will consider the dignity and interests of both parties.
“Only that can be ratified in Parliament and produce legal effect in the direction of friendship and good-neighbourliness. Until then, the existing Friendship and Good-Neighbourliness Treaty, without which this Protocol cannot produce these harmful activities, remains internationally valid”, Popovska adds.