Together for accountability: supporting the special public prosecutor office of Macedonia in strengthening its operational and international judicial cooperation capacities

Project description

The proposed project aims at consolidating the rule of law, establishing accountability and building trust in the Macedonian justice system in the midst of the biggest crisis of impunity since Macedonia’s independence. In the fall 2015, the Office of the Special Public Prosecutor (SPPO) was established to initiate criminal proceedings on allegations of abuse of public office which was revealed by the political opposition’s disclosure of wiretapped phone conversations of state officials. Given the magnitude and the importance of its tasks, the SPPO’s effective performance is critical both to resolve the internal crisis, as well as to entrench Macedonia in its Europeanisation path.

The project therefore aims at supporting this Office in its investigation and prosecution mandates through:
1. the development of its operational capacities to effectively run investigations and prosecute;
2. the enhancement of its capacities in international judicial cooperation.

Output 1: Improved capacities of the SPPO to carry out investigations and prosecution in relation to its mandate
– assessment of the working structures, procedures and practices
– strengthening of the structure by targeted advice at the institutional, strategic and operational level, practical training for the SPPO staff and peer-to-peer mentoring between Dutch and Macedonian colleagues.

Output 2: Enhancing capacities of the SPPO in international judicial cooperation
The project support will be targeted at an institutionalised capacity to deal with international judicial cooperation as well as at training staff of the SPPO on how to strengthen their capacities to deal with international judicial cooperation and providing support to actual cases in the area of international judicial cooperation.