VZCZCXRO1435
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHSQ #0514/01 3001605
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 271605Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8612
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0564
RUESEN/SKOPJE BETA
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000514 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: GRUEVSKI INSISTS ON PROGRESS IN 
JUDICIAL REFORM 
 
REF: SKOPJE 00300 
 
SKOPJE 00000514  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified--please protect accordingly. 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: (SBU) PM Nikola Gruevski continued to closely 
monitor and insist on judicial reform in an October 15 
meeting with OSCE and the Embassy. While progress has been 
made on some reforms, most have not been fully implemented, 
despite promises made by Justice Minister Mihajlo Manevski in 
June. The PM demanded updates on each area from Manevski, and 
expressed visible dissatisfaction with issues that had not 
been fully implemented. Gruevski was not pleased with the 
status of the reforms, especially in areas of publishing of 
court decisions, anti-corruption measures for judges, and 
pending judicial legislation. Gruevski demanded that Manevski 
account for his shortcomings, set new deadlines for 
completion of the reforms, and planned a future status 
meeting on these issues for early December. END SUMMARY 
 
Transparency Remains Problematic 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) PM Gruevski convened a meeting on October 15 with 
Minister of Justice Manevski, OSCE, and the U.S. Embassy to 
review the status of key judicial reforms that were agreed 
upon at a June 2009 meeting with the international community 
(REFTEL). Gruevski focused on measures to increase 
transparency of the judiciary, including the publishing of 
court decisions (both online and in hard copy), the opening 
of sessions of the judicial and prosecutorial councils to the 
public, and the publishing of financial statements of judges 
to root out corruption. While there has been some progress in 
these areas, the overall assessment was that significant work 
still needs to be done. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On the publishing of and access to court decisions, 
Manevski reported that the Supreme Court had published a rule 
book making it mandatory for all courts to publish decisions 
online in their entirety, only redacting personal data of 
defendants, witnesses, injured parties, and private 
information in the cases of rape and juveniles. He claimed 
that over 1800 decisions had been published thus far across 
Macedonia and, although there have been some technical 
problems with certain courts, all decisions should be 
published by the end of the year. 
 
¶4. (SBU) We pointed out that this information did not match 
our information, as we had seen no judgments published from 
the major courts (Skopje I, II, Supreme Court, and Appellate 
Court) and any judgments that were published were so heavily 
redacted as to be useless. Moreover, NGOs and private 
attorneys have complained to us that they have been denied 
hard copy access to verdicts as recently as last week. The PM 
requested we provide a list of these denials to the MOJ and 
recommended to the Minister that he discipline these 
judges/courts at the next Judicial Council meeting. Gruevski 
then opened his laptop and asked Manevski to show him some 
electronically published judgments. The PM noted with evident 
displeasure that the level of redaction was far heavier than 
what Manevski himself had described (para 3). The PM ordered 
the MOJ to check all court web sites and report to the 
government in the next month. Gruevski also suggested that 
specific conditions for redaction and the mandatory 
publication of judgments be added as an amendment to the Law 
on Courts. Gruevski called for these amendments to be 
completed and presented to the government by the end of 
November. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Some sessions of the Judicial Council were open to 
the public on September 1, but the disciplinary sessions 
remain closed. Manevski noted that the members of the 
Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils recently returned from a 
USAID-funded study tour and gained valuable information from 
our judicial system that they could use to improve 
transparency. (COMMENT: There has been strong pushback by the 
Councils against making confidential disciplinary sessions 
public. We are working with them to find regional models to 
create a solution that would increase transparency without 
jeopardizing the reputations of the parties involved.) 
 
¶6. (SBU) Gruevski also took Manevski to task on the progress 
of the publishing of judges, financial statements. Manevski 
initially argued that this was the domain of the 
Anti-Corruption Commission and not the MOJ, and that he did 
not know what had or had not been published. Gruevski pushed 
back, arguing that it was certainly the job of the MOJ and 
demanded that Manevski personally provide him with an update 
 
SKOPJE 00000514  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
on this issue by October 27. 
 
Improvements Still Needed on Judge Training and Selection 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) Gruevski inquired about progress in creating and 
implementing a better standard for selection and training of 
judges. He emphasized the need for all judges to be trained 
in European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) standards, to speak 
English, to hold master,s degrees, and to undergo 
psychological and ethics tests before being hired. (COMMENT: 
Gruevski expressed these views in the June meeting (REFTEL), 
though this goes beyond what we recommended.) Manevski 
complained about the difficulty of the English language 
requirement, but noted that the Judicial Council members 
acquired actionable information on their recent study trip to 
the United States that they hoped to implement soon. (NOTE: 
In a September one-on-one meeting with POLOFF Manevski spoke 
of the addition of questions to the Macedonian Bar exam on 
the ECHR standards.) 
 
Small Amounts of Positive Praise 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The PM praised the MOJ for the work it had done on 
allowing easier access for attorneys to their clients in 
detention. We agreed with the PM that access has improved 
considerably since June in detention centers in Skopje and 
Prilep and there have been no new complaints on this issue. 
Manevski also reported that the USAID-funded computer system, 
which will automate court processes and case management, has 
been implemented in all of Macedonia,s courts. This system 
will significantly improve the efficiency and capacity of the 
courts. Manevski noted that training was ongoing on this 
system and the courts were still on track to have the system 
fully operational by January 1. Additionally, Manevski noted 
that the MOJ had received funding for three more organized 
crime prosecutors, which will help balance the case load and 
improve the efficiency of the court. Unfortunately, no one 
had applied for the vacancies, so the MOJ has increased the 
salary for the positions in the hope of attracting suitable 
candidates. 
 
COMMENT 
-------- 
¶9. (SBU) As in past meetings, Gruevski purposefully berated 
Manevski in front of the international community, perhaps in 
part to attempt to exert his authority and pass blame on to 
Manevski for lack of progress. The pressure on Manevski, in 
both this meeting and in the past, was clear. We will 
continue in coordination with the international community, to 
press for progress on the major problems that still exist in 
Macedonia's judicial system. 
REEKER