After the former president of the Skopje Basic Court Vladimir Panchevski was eliminated from the competition for the chief prosecutor’s post by the Council of Public Prosecutors, he took it to social media and shared his stance on the matter. Panchevski showed a certificate from the Skopje Basic Criminal Court that he was a judge continuously from February 8, 2008 to July 28, 2020, i.e. he has a total judicial experience of 12 years, 5 months and 20 days.
The Council of Public Prosecutors rejected his nomination on the grounds that he does not meet the requirements, i.e., as the members of the Council decided, he does not have at least 10 years of uninterrupted work experience in the field of criminal law, as prescribed by the Law on Public Prosecution.
According to Panchevski, the decision is unlawful, because the fact that he had a continuous experience of more than 12 years was not taken into account.
Unlike Panchevski, the other four candidates for head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office passed the filter and the Council of Public Prosecutors should now forward their nominations to the Government. Prosecutor Lenche Ristoska and Criminal Court Judge Nenad Savevski received unanimous support – with all 10 votes. Lidija Raichevikj passed with one less vote, and the Council of Public Prosecutors also had a positive opinion for Acting Chief Public Prosecutor Anita Topolova-Isajlovska.
