Rule of Law Council holds its sixth session

Deputy Prime Minister for the Political System, Judiciary and Anti-Corruption Momo Koprivica chaired the sixth session of the Rule of Law Council on Friday, 27 February.

Given that the mandate of the Judicial Council expires on 12 July 2026, the Council called on the competent parliamentary committee to promptly announce a public call and subsequently elect four members of the Judicial Council from among distinguished lawyers. It also urged that the Conference of Judges be convened as soon as possible to elect Judicial Council members from among judges, in order to avoid any vacuum in the functioning of the judicial branch in a year when the closure of negotiating chapters in the area of rule of law is expected.

The Council also reviewed and proposed that the Government adopt the Reports on the implementation of action plans for meeting the final benchmarks under Chapters 23 and 24 for the reporting period from 1 July to 31 December 2025.

The importance of continuing the implementation of measures was emphasized, along with the need for all competent authorities to intensify their engagement in fulfilling obligations arising from the EU accession negotiations.

The session also addressed constitutional amendments in line with European recommendations concerning the composition, election method, and decision-making procedures of the Judicial and Prosecutorial Councils. Amendments related to the final benchmark under Chapter 17 were also considered, with the aim of ensuring price stability in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Furthermore, the Council analysed the situation and discussed further steps in line with state aid legislation within the framework of the fourth final benchmark under Chapter 8 – Competition. It was assessed that fulfilling this benchmark would send a strong signal to the European Union that system institutions are functioning efficiently.

The Deputy Chair of the Council is the Minister of European Affairs. Its members include the President of the Supreme Court, the President of the Constitutional Court, the President of the Judicial Council, the Supreme State Prosecutor, the Chief Special Prosecutor, the Ministers of Justice, Interior, and Human and Minority Rights, the Director of the Police Directorate, the Director of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption, the Chief Negotiator, the Negotiator for Cluster I, the Heads of Negotiating Groups for Chapters 23 and 24, as well as one representative of the NGO sector.