North Macedonia
North Macedonia's prosecutors ask Constitutional Court for urgent ruling on their pay cuts
The petitions have been pending for eight months; prosecutors warn of departures from the system and a negative assessment in the European Commission's report.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 20, 2026, 12:45 · Updated 12:21 · 1 min read
In brief
- The Council of Prosecutors, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Association of Prosecutors issued a joint position.
- Legal changes lowered prosecutors' salary coefficients, while they say their pay is the lowest in the region.
- In July it emerged that the vote in the Constitutional Court had ended 4-4, as the court is working with one judge short.
Prosecutors in North Macedonia are pressing the Constitutional Court to rule on cuts to their salaries. The Council of Public Prosecutors, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Association of Public Prosecutors asked the court, in a joint statement, to urgently put their petitions on its agenda.
The petitions, filed eight months ago, challenge changes to the laws on the salaries of public prosecutors and members of the Council of Prosecutors, which lowered the coefficients and consequently the salaries. The Association's board expressed serious concern about the court's inaction, saying it calls into question the independence of the Prosecutor's Office and creates a gap between the judicial and prosecutorial functions.
Fear of departures
Prosecutors warn that the pay cuts could push a significant number of colleagues to leave. They say salaries remain the lowest in the region, while shortages of staff, budget and basic working conditions are chronic. They expect the European Commission's next report on the country to note this as a significant setback for the independence of the Prosecutor's Office.
The issue is not new. Prosecutors also reacted in mid-July, when Constitutional Court President Darko Kostadinovski explained that the procedure had begun but the government had again lowered the coefficients with the February 2026 amendments. He said the rapporteur judge's proposal failed to win the necessary majority, as the vote ended 4-4 in a court operating with one member short.
Pay cuts for officials, including judges and prosecutors, had also been approved in 2024. The latest changes passed Parliament at the end of February, despite the Association's request that they be withdrawn.
