Constitutional Court hosts regional conference in Ohrid on "How to increase public trust in constitutional courts"

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia, together with the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ), is holding a regional conference in Ohrid on September 16–17, 2026, under the central theme "How to increase public trust in constitutional courts".

Conference focus and goals

The forum focuses on building and strengthening public confidence in constitutional courts, with particular attention to judicial independence and credibility, transparency, public communication and the modern challenges that institutions face amid rapid information and technological change.

Organizers say the conference aims to use exchanges of regional and European experience to examine how constitutional courts construct and maintain public trust while preserving their independence and institutional authority.

The opening session will be led by Darko Kostadinovski, President of the Constitutional Court, and Stefan Pirner, Head of the Western Balkans project unit at the IRZ.

Panel discussions will include presidents and judges of constitutional courts from the region, among them Mirsad Ćeman, President of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, judges from the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia Tatjana Vasic-Bozadjieva and Osman Kadriu, and representatives from the constitutional courts of Montenegro and Serbia.

Winfried Schubert, former President of the Constitutional Court of the federal state of Brandenburg and former President of the Higher Regional Court in Naumburg, Germany, is scheduled to speak about the development and role of the German constitutional judiciary, its public acceptance, the challenges it faces and institutional resilience.

Participants at the conference also include IRZ representatives, members of the diplomatic corps, academics and judges from the region.

Photo: press material from the event