The Constitutional Court in North Macedonia yesterday rejected three initiatives that challenged the provisions of the Law on Minor Offenses, namely the application of the “Safe City” system. The legal provisions were also challenged in the official use of languages in minor offense proceedings. The initiatives submitted by several Albanian politicians requested that it be examined whether the law in question violates the constitutional right to use official languages. According to them, in minor offense proceedings generated by the camera system, the Albanian language is not being used equally with the Macedonian language, it reports.
The decision was preceded by a wide debate with divided opinions, especially from Albanian judges regarding the application of the Albanian language in this case.
Constitutional judge Osman Kadriu raised this very concern during the court debate, emphasizing that the rights guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be limited or circumvented by ordinary laws. He emphasized that in this specific case, the problem lies in the non-implementation in practice of the use of the Albanian language in minor offense procedures.
"With the law that the legislature adopts, for every right that is confirmed or guaranteed by the Constitution, the legislator cannot narrow that right, limit it, and even less abolish it. There is no such right. In the specific case, the issue of using the Albanian language as an official language, even in the procedures for these offenses. The right is not being implemented and this means that the Albanian language is not being used," said constitutional judge Osman Kadriu.
The debate deepened even further after statements by the President of the Constitutional Court, Darko Kostadinovski, who said that fine notifications via SMS are sent in Macedonian and can also be sent in English, but not in Albanian, adding that he disagrees that "this is about curtailing the rights to use languages."
This statement prompted strong reactions from Albanian political representatives.
The Democratic Union for Integration reacted by calling this stance discriminatory and contrary to the spirit of the Constitution and the Ohrid Agreement, which guarantees the official use of the Albanian language in state institutions.
"The Democratic Union for Integration reacts strongly to the scandalous and unacceptable statements of the President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia, Darko Kostadinovski. With his positions yesterday and with a series of decisions over the last two years, he has proven that this institution has become a political tool to undermine every achievement stemming from the Ohrid Agreement. His statements on the issue of the "Safe City" project, according to which SMS messages should be sent only in Macedonian, while they can also be sent in English, but not in Albanian, constitute an open act of discrimination and a serious violation of the spirit and the very Constitution of the state," the DUI's response states.
There was also a reaction from the Minister of Economy, Besar Durmishi, who recalled that the Constitution of North Macedonia recognizes as an official language the language spoken by at least 20 percent of citizens, referring to the Albanian language. He emphasized that no one has the right to deny or unilaterally interpret this constitutional right.
"In addition to the Macedonian language, according to the constitution, the official language is also the language spoken by at least 20% of citizens, that is, the Albanian language. Therefore, neither the president of the constitutional court nor anyone else can deny this right, nor interpret the constitution as he wishes. We will fight our battle within the Government, within the Ministry of Interior," Durmishi said in an interview with Alsat.
WLEN, on the other hand, said that they want to respect the normative principle that the decisions of the Constitutional Court are not commented on, especially not by political parties, because this can automatically be interpreted as political pressure. However, they add, we cannot “avoid the impression that this composition of the Constitutional Court resembles more a Yugoslav political elite than the highest judicial instance in the country.”
"The use of the Albanian language is a fundamental human right and one of the fundamental values of the Constitution. State institutions have the obligation to guarantee the right of every citizen to be informed in their native language, including about the obligations that arise as a result of their actions or behavior. This also applies to the "Safe City" system. VLEN has been clear and remains unwavering in its position that when the state notifies, warns or punishes a citizen through this system, it has the duty to do so in the Albanian language. This is not a matter of political will, but a constitutional obligation and respect for a fundamental right. Precisely for this reason, VLEN will defend this principle with all legal and institutional means, until its full implementation and without any dilemma," say VLEN.
We recall that four initiatives were raised in the Constitutional Court contesting the legality of the system in question, one from the Alliance for Albanians-Taravari, another from the Alliance for Albanians-Sela, and another initiative from Ylli Paçuku, a student at the Faculty of Law, who was supported by DUI.
The Constitutional Court of North Macedonia decided in yesterday's session to reject all initiatives to challenge the "Safe City" system. This means that the system remains in force and is in accordance with the Constitution.
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