Judge Meri Dika Georgievska enters the Constitutional Court, opposition criticizes

Meri Dika Georgievska is the new Constitutional Court judge after the Assembly accepted the Judicial Council's proposal; the Constitutional Court announced that she begins work today, and that cases will be distributed to her soon.

Political reactions and controversies

The Judicial Council proposed Meri Dika Georgievska's candidacy as early as March this year; her competitor was her colleague from the Court of Appeal, Elizabeta Dukovska. Most members of the Council then stated that Dukovska did not have an uninterrupted tenure of 20 years as a permanent judge, a requirement provided by the Law on the Judicial Council.

The Constitutional Court, in its official statement, confirmed the start of her work and the distribution of cases: "Judge Georgievska has been assigned working materials for the Court's upcoming activities. In the coming period, cases on which Judge Georgievska will act as reporting judge will be distributed to her."

The choice drew criticism from the opposition. Levica, in its reaction, questioned the justification of the appointment and addressed criticism to the ruling party: "The same person who, according to VMRO-DPMNE's rhetoric, was part of the 'Reket' story, today magically transforms into a 'prominent lawyer'. Not because the facts have changed, the only thing that has changed is the chair from which they speak. When they were in opposition, Meri Dika was their proof of a decayed judiciary. Today, when they are in power, the same Meri Dika is good enough to decide on the constitutionality of laws and to interpret the highest legal norm in the state."

The Liberal Democratic Party also reacted, linking the vote to government support: "VMRO-DPMNE with 64 votes chose the judge from the 'Reket' case — known for the passport for shopping in Milan — to the highest legal office in the country."

Meri Dika's name gained attention during the trial of Bojan Jovanovski in the 'Reket' case, when the judge testified and revealed that she is a godmother of Boki 13 and that on one occasion she was in Milan together with him, his mother and the driver. It was also noted then that her passport was used for a tax refund for items purchased by Jovanovski's mother. As additional context, it is noted that her sister had been president of the International Union and testified in the second part of the case concerning the missing one million euros taken from a businessman.

The appointment follows a period of departures from the Constitutional Court: in December last year Professor Jadranka Dabović-Anastasovska submitted her resignation for health and personal reasons. On February 18 this year the professor from the Faculty of Law, Goce Naumovski, was elected, but six months later he also left the position, as he stated, for professional and personal reasons.

The Assembly accepted the Judicial Council's proposal to fill the vacant seat in the Constitutional Court; reports state that the vote was unanimous, while the opposition emphasized the influence of the ruling party, pointing out that "VMRO-DPMNE with 64 votes" supported the candidacy.

Photo: press material from the event