Shasivari on Justice Day: "Trust Is Earned Through Deeds" - Yet Only 21% of Citizens Rate Court Independence as Good

On October 25 Europe marks European Day of Justice, and Justice Minister Jeton Shasivari used the date for a message full of sentences that sound like they were written for a constitutional law textbook. "We need a judiciary that decides independently, impartially and within a reasonable time, and a prosecution service that acts professionally, decisively and non-selectively," the minister said.

The follow-up was even more ambitious. Institutions, according to Shasivari, must justify trust "not with words and promises, but with concrete results, integrity and accountability", because "trust in justice is not demanded - it is earned through deeds". Reforms, he says, will not be measured only by the number of laws passed, but by what citizens actually feel: faster proceedings, better decisions, equal application of the law.

Fine, let's measure. The European Commission's latest Rule of Law Report, for 2026, says that only 21% of citizens and 19% of companies rate the independence of courts and judges as "fairly good" or "very good". A year earlier those figures were 28% and 26%. The Commission concludes that the perception of judicial independence is at a very low level and has deteriorated significantly.

As the main reason, citizens cite the perception of interference and pressure from the government and politicians, as well as the influence of economic and other special interests. The report also notes that the Judicial Sector Reform Strategy 2024-2028 is being implemented, but that problems remain with cooperation between institutions, pressure on judicial independence and the financial conditions in which courts and prosecutors' offices work.

Lawyers are even harsher. Attorney Vancho Shehtanski says that Macedonia, as a "captured state", can only mention this day. Prosecutor Lidija Raichevikj, who is also being named as a candidate to head the Public Prosecutor's Office for Organised Crime and Corruption, believes that the very fact that justice is talked about so much shows how urgently it is needed.

The minister is right about one thing: trust is not demanded, it is earned. It's just that the numbers say that over the past year it has been spent faster than it was earned. Who will answer for it if the next report shows an even lower percentage - the judges, the prosecutors, or the politicians whose interference citizens keep talking about?