At the Q&A session of Parliament on Thursday, SDSM MP Borce Cvetkovski asked Justice Minister Igor Filkov whether the ruling structure wanted judges to be “only pawns” that would make decisions according to directives by parties”, which had been the case during Nikola Gruevski’s rule.
The election of Danka Ristova, who’s married to the Radovis Mayor, VMRO-DPMNE’s Aco Ristov, as Judicial Council member, confirms that, according to SDSM.
“This is not an isolated case, but rather a clear strategy. Just like during Gruevski’s rule, you want judges to be just pawns that will make decisions according to party directives”, the SDSM MP noted, adding that the same thing had happened with the Council of Public Prosecutors, with the election of Ardian Demiri as member.
However, Filkov said the government couldn’t impact the election process involving judges, adding that Ristova’s experience in the sector had lasted for 35 years, while 27 out of 39 judges had voted for her. According to him, the focus should be on the upcoming changes to the Criminal Code.
“Know that the changes to the Code are coming and that there will be justice”, he stressed.