Law Enforcement – North Macedonia Anti Corruption Institutional Framework

Investigative:

– Sector for Organized Crime and Corruption, Ministry of Interior – click for more information

Contacts

Website

– Financial Police, Ministry of Finance (Управа за финансиска полиција) – click for more information

Contacts

Website

Email: financial.police@finance.gov.mk

tel. +389 2 3106 645

General information

Established: Financial Police Office is a body within the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Macedonia, having legal personality. It was established on 26 June 2003 pursuant to the Law on Financial Police.

Structure: headed by Director and his Deputy, divided into sectors .

Competencies:

-carries out financial control, monitors the application of tax, customs and other regulations in the field of finance, collects and analyses data on cash transactions, undertakes preliminary investigative and other measures when there are reasonable doubts for committed criminal deeds in the field of organized financial crime, carries out preliminary investigative procedure for criminal deeds in the field of organized financial crime when pursued ex officio and follows the money trail under criminal deeds stipulated by law that include significant and large-volume amounts;

-detects and documents criminal deeds, above all in the field of organized financial crime and criminal deeds pursued ex officio, such as tax evasion, money laundering and other proceeds from crime, tax, banking, insurance, stock exchange, customs and other frauds with significant and large-volume amounts, grave forms of corruption, such as abuse of official duty and powers in terms of acquiring significant amounts or acquiring amounts at the detriment of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia, receiving and giving bribe, as well as causing false bankruptcy, counterfeiting and destroying of business books, counterfeiting documents, financing terrorism, not paying custom duties, excises or other public fees stipulated by law, which include larger, significant and large-volume amounts;

-carries out procedure for examining property and property status on the basis of public data and registries kept pursuant to law;

-implements preliminary investigative measures so as to detect and provide trails of the criminal deed and the objects that can serve as evidence, to find the perpetrator, to prevent the perpetrator or the accomplice from hiding or fleeing, as well as to gather all information that could be of use for successful conducting of the criminal procedures;

-brings criminal charges to the competent public prosecutor for criminal deeds under its competence, which are pursued ex officio, for which it is being informed or will learn in any other manner;

-initiates and conducts misdemeanour procedure, as well as submits initiative for initiating offence procedure to the competent bodies, if, when performing its competences, it determines misdemenaour responsibility stipulated by law;

-submits initiative for initiating procedure for determining and collecting public fees before the competent body;

-carries out expert computer analysis of confiscated objects, computer information or data from other electronic and mechanical devices containing information, which can serve as evidence in the course of conducting preliminary investigative and offence procedure within its competence;

-organizes and carries out trainings, knowledge examination of the financial police officers and manages human resources;

-upon request by other government bodies and institutions, prepares and provides expert findings and opinions within its competence;

-cooperates with peer bodies from other countries in line with the bilateral agreements and ratified international agreements and

-perform other activities stipulated by this and other laws.

Level of Independence

– Permanence: established on 26.06.2003 pursuant to the Law on Financial Police OG 55/02

– Appointment: Director is elected by Government on the recommendation of the Minister of Finance

– Removal: Government decides on removal on recommendation of Financial Police

– Immunity: No

– Financial Autonomy: budget adopted in standard procedure

Prosecutorial:

– Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Fighting Organized Crime and Corruption – click for more information

Contacts

Website

Email: jorm@jorm.org.mk

tel. +389 23 219 850

General information

Established:

The Special Prosecutor’s Office was formally and legally established with the adoption of the Law on the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Prosecuting Criminal Offences Related to and Arising from the Content of the Illegally Intercepted Communication in the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and with the appointment of Mrs. Katica Janeva as head of this Public Prosecutor’s Office on the 15th of September 2015. It is worth noting that the Law which establishes the Special Prosecutor’s Office was adopted with 111 votes in favour out of the total of 114 present MPs, with no votes against, and that the Council of Public Prosecutors unanimously elected Prosecutor Janeva for this position. Materially and legally, the Special Prosecutor’s Offuce was properly staffed with the appointment of 12 prosecutors by the aforementioned body on the 14th of October and the 4th of November 2015.

Structure:

The staff of the Special Prosecutor’s Office includes investigators, experts, professional and administrative staff. In line with the conceptual organizational set-up of this Public Prosecutor’s Office based on the autonomy granted by the law to independently investigate the criminal offences related to and arising from the content of the illegally intercepted communication, a need existed to form a team of investigators which will assist the Special Public Prosecutor and the team of public prosecutors. The team of investigators is comprised of police officers from the Ministry of Interior and the Financial Police Directorate, as well as expert associates who are involved in the team of investigators of this prosecution.

The professional and administrative staff is comprised of professional staff and persons who carry out technical and auxiliary works. Considering the sensitive character of the work and the work tasks performed by the employees, their status is legally regulated. The work of the professional staff of this Public Prosecutor’s Office is based on the principles of legality, professionalism, expertise and competence, responsibility, efficiency, professional ethics, impartiality and objectivity, confidentiality, prevention of conflicts of interest, economy and respect for the principle of hierarchy.

Competencies:

The head Public Prosecutor who runs the Office is authorized to undertake actions and bring cases before the Courts of First Instance, Appelate Courts, and the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia. The Public Prosecutor running the Public Prosecutor’s Office has exclusive competence and power to independently carry out all the investigative and prosecutorial functions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

All evidence of criminal offences which are outside the powers and jurisdiction of the Public Prosecutor for Prosecuting Criminal Offences Related to and Arising from the Content of the Illegally Intercepted Communication, or are relevant to existing criminal cases shall be handed over to the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Macedonia and to the prosecutor who is leading the case.

In terms of the judicial system, the Special Prosecutor’s Office in the Republic of Macedonia is organized in accordance with the principle of autonomy, which is explained in greater detail in Chapter VI of the Law. Hence, no public prosecutor in the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Macedonia, including the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Macedonia, can influence its work or demand reports on the cases of the Public Prosecutor or the public prosecutors in the Prosecutor’s Office. The Prosecutor’s Office can take over the cases that fall within its competence in any stage of the proceedings, i.e. independently claims jurisdication. The Public Prosecutor managing the Special Prosecutor’s Office answers to the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia and the Council of Public Prosecutors.

The principle of autonomy also applies to the financing of the Prosecutor’s Office, hence the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Macedonia, the Ministry of Finance and the Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia cannot change the financial plan prepared by the Special Prosecutor’s Office and are obliged to incorporate it in the Budget of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Macedonia.

The Public Prosecutor independently manages the work of the Prosecutor’s Office and delegates work and assignments and is responsible for timely and proper fulfillment of all duties (Special Public Prosecutor).

Level of Independence

– Permanence: established in OG 150/2007 dated 12.12.2007 Law on the Public Prosecution Office

– Appointment: selected by the Public Prosecutor’s Council of the Republic of Macedonia from the ranks of elected public prosecutors.

Initially, the Special Public Prosecutor’s Office has been given a mandate of five years from the moment the Law enters into force. The mandate can be extended once a year with a decision adopted with a supermajority.

– Removal:

(1) The term of office of a public prosecutor shall be terminated:

– upon his or hers request;

– if he or she looses the citizenship of Republic of Macedonia;

– if he or she is found permanently incapable of exercising his public prosecutorial office;

– by meeting the conditions for old-age retirement;

– if he or she has been selected or appointed to another public office upon his or hers request and with his or hers consent, except when the public prosecutorial office is put on hold under conditions stipulated in this Law; and

– if he or she has been convicted for a crime with an effective verdict and sentenced to imprisonment of at least six months, or receives a shorter prison sentence or another criminal sanction for a criminal offence making him or her unworthy to exercise the office of a public prosecutor.

(2) In the events as referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article, the termination of the term of office of the public prosecutor shall be established by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Macedonia.

– Immunity: Yes

– Financial Autonomy:

(1) The necessary funds for the operation of the Public Prosecution Offices shall be provided from the State Budget of the Republic of Macedonia via the budgetary user – the Public Prosecution Office of the Republic of Macedonia.

(2) The Basic Public Prosecution Offices, the Basic Public Prosecution Office for Prosecution of Organized Crime and Corruption and the Higher Public Prosecution Offices shall be financed via the budgetary user, as referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.