site.btaNorth Macedonia's Commission for Prevention of Corruption Runs with No Chairperson

North Macedonia's State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC) is working without a chairperson after Tatjana Dimitrovska was indicted and placed in custody, media in the country reported.

In the interest of the smooth functioning of the Commission, it is crucial that it operates with all its members, but in line with the measures imposed by the court, the Chair has not come to work in recent months, the SCPC said in a statement released by media in North Macedonia on Monday. The statement reads further that the dismissal of the SCPC Chair is within the competence of Parliament in accordance with the act on prevention of corruption and conflict of interest.

The SCPC said that as a moral act, resignation is a personal decision and a right of the Chairperson, but Dimitrovska had not taken such a move.

At a briefing on Monday, Parliament President Afrim Gashi stressed that a final court verdict must be in place in order to initiate a procedure to terminate Dimitrovska's term in office. He said that the parliamentary committee on elections and appointments should rule on this issue. "The law is clear that this can be done not upon indictment but upon a final court verdict. Whether someone can lead this body [the SCPC] when there is an indictment is more a question of ethics and reputation for dignity in leading this institution," the media quoted Gashi as saying.

During the investigation in April, Dimitrovska announced that she had no intention of stepping down from her post, because without a court verdict, everyone is presumed innocent, the country's media recall. Dimitrovska was charted on July 18 with disclosing official secrets and illegally obtaining a certificate for classified information.

Responding to a journalist's question related to the case, North Macedonia's Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said on Monday that the Government does not intend to deal with the removal of the SCPC Chairperson. "There is a moral act of responsibility, if someone feels it, they should step down (...) For criminal responsibility, there are prosecutors, courts, let them decide (...) We have no intention of dealing with such things," Mickoski said.