site.btaNorth Macedonia's Public Prosecutor Resigns

North Macedonia’s Public Prosecutor Ljupco Kocevski submitted his resignation shortly before Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting, during which he was expected to be dismissed.

At a press conference, Kocevski said that he is leaving the prosecution service “with his head held high, but also with disappointment due to the apparent disregard for the principles on which the rule of law is based.”

His resignation comes ahead of the parliamentary sitting, which included on its agenda the government’s proposal for his dismissal.

According to Kocevski, he received an invitation this morning to attend the session, which was to consider his removal at the government’s request. He stressed that he was given no time to prepare, and the proposal for his dismissal was not even presented to him. He noted that the parliamentary sitting was intended to be merely formal.

“The Public Prosecutor can only be removed from office if it is determined that a serious disciplinary violation has been committed. This is not meant to protect Ljupco Kocevski or anyone else assuming the position, but to safeguard the independence of the prosecution and the principle of separation of powers, principles that today are deeply undermined,” Kocevski said.

The parliamentary agenda item concerning Kocevski’s dismissal was withdrawn, and his resignation was formally acknowledged, according to local media reports.

The procedure for removing the Public Prosecutor began in February, but was paused due to the March 16 fire in Kocani and resumed after the case proceedings began. In the meantime, the country’s parliament also passed a motion of interpellation regarding Kocevski.

According to the government of North Macedonia, Kocevski committed serious professional errors in managing the prosecution, which led to a reduction in its effectiveness and functionality.

According to the reasoning for his dismissal he exceeded his powers and allowed the prosecution to publish information about court cases, which “as a result of these violations, the institution’s functioning has been disrupted and its integrity seriously undermined.”

In an interview last week, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said that Kocevski had been given a year and a half to show results, but this did not happen. Meanwhile, in an interview with MRT 1 on Monday, SDSM leader Venko Filipce said that the dismissal of the Public Prosecutor is not a reform, but “yet another proof of the politicization of institutions.”