As part of the Regional Conference on the Independence of Constitutional Courts held on June 11 in Ohrid, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia, Antonio Miloshoski, had a meeting with the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Jean-Paul Costa.

Minister Miloshoski informed President Costa that the initiated reforms of the European Court of Human Rights, as well as the implementation of the Interlaken Declaration and Action Plan remain priority activities under the Macedonian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe.

President Costa introduced Minister Miloshoski to the activities that the Court is undertaking in respect of the entry into force of Protocol 14. Both the Minister and the President jointly concluded that the entry into force of Protocol 14 will accelerate the process of adopting court decisions, whereas the Council of Europe member states will have to strengthen the mechanisms for implementing the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

Possibilities were also considered for a greater flexibility of the Court in the use of its own budget, while other issues discussed were the strengthening of the process of electing new judges by creating a so called group of wise persons which would offer its independent opinion on the proposed list of candidates for the post of ECtHR judges. The issue of undertaking due activities in respect of the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights was also discussed.

At the end, Minister Miloshoski informed President Costa that a Conference entitled “Strengthening subsidiarity: integrating the Court’s case-law into national law and judicial practice” will be held under the Macedonian Chairmanship in the autumn in Skopje, inviting the President to take part in it.