Though the process of interviews with the candidates in the race for the position of North Macedonia judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg was held on Monday, the names of the final three candidates will not be immediately sent to the CoE by the five-member commission, headed by Constitutional Court President Darko Dimitrovski.
That is so because they will wait for a decision from the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC), which will voice a stand on the petitions alleging conflict of interest between Kostadinovski and one of the candidates, Iustinianius Primus Faculty of Law Dean Saso Georgievski, because the latter was the former’s mentor during for his master’s thesis and doctoral dissertation.
Kostadinovski had previously said there was no conflict of interest. At the meeting before the start of the interviews, other members agreed with him.
The SCPC had opened the case on 13 October. It is waiting for Kostadinvoski to respond within 15 days. The term of the current judge in Strasbourg, Jovan Ilijevski, expires on 1 February 2026.