Judicial Council vacancies persist as Parliament issues fourth call

Two seats on the Judicial Council remain unfilled while the Assembly again launches a new call for candidates, the fourth in a year. Lawmakers were due this week to select a replacement but the proposal was withdrawn and a fresh vacancy notice was published the same day.

Parliament cites law changes as reason for delay

The vacancy follows the end of Selim Ademi’s mandate ten months ago; despite multiple recruitment drives, no successor has been chosen. In June the Council lost another member early when Pavlina Crvenkovska left because of retirement, stepping down roughly six months before her term would have ended.

After two failed notices and an incomplete third selection process this week, MPs were expected to vote among candidates who had passed the committee filter, but the nomination was pulled at the last moment. The Assembly immediately published a new advertisement for one Judicial Council member — the fourth call for the same seat in twelve months.

When asked for an explanation, parliamentary officials said the postponements were connected to amendments to the new Judicial Council law adopted in June, which narrowed the eligibility criteria for the post.

"These two posts need to be filled as soon as possible," said Ivana Petkovska of the coalition All for a Fair Trial, expressing concern that repeated failed calls leave the Council under-staffed and that political will to select genuinely prominent jurists is often lacking.

Legal experts have pointed out an additional complication: the Council sought from the Assembly an interpretive opinion on statutory provisions governing premature termination of members’ mandates, a step that observers described as legally contentious.

Photo: press material from the event