Can Ivanov void a pardoning decision made by Crvenkovski?

By Александра Денковска On Jun 15, 2016 0

Pardon, withdraw the pardon, possible or not, it does not matter! Photo: Google

From legislative and legal point of view, can the current President Gjorge Ivanov withdraw a pardoning decision made by another president 8 years ago? It is not completely clear.

Author: Aleksandra Denkovska

Is there constitutional opportunity for the President Gjorge Ivanov to void the pardon of the leader of SDSM, Zoran Zaev for the case “Global”?

After Ivanov withdrew all the pardons, some of the pro-government media called Zaev to request the voiding of his pardon regarding the case “Global”.

Several days after the complete withdrawal of the pardons, SDSM’s leader still has not expressed his reaction, and he is the only pardoned politician, for one of the biggest corruption affairs in Macedonia, “Global” which involves 8 million euro. The leader of SDSM needs to write only one letter so his pardon regarding the case of “Global” can be voided, Pres 24 website writes.

The Law amending the Law on Pardoning passed by the Parliament does not clearly state whether Ivanov can void the pardon decision made by the former president Branko Crvenkovski eight years ago.

Law amending the Law on Pardoning passed upon summary proceeding

Article 11 а

The President of the Republic of Macedonia can void the pardon decision made without previous pardon proceeding, within 30 days after this law is passed. The President is not obliged to explain the decision from the Paragraph.

The pardoned person has the right to submit a pardon voidance request to the President of the Republic.

The President of the Republic is obliged to void the decision within 30 days after the submitted request from the Paragraph.

The civil activists and experts immediately objected the amendments of the Law on Pardoning when they were passed.

According to some experts, the President makes the pardoning decision as an institution, and not as an individual, therefore it is undisputable for Ivanov to void Crvenkovski’s pardoning decision.

Others believe that a decision made 8 years ago cannot be voided. According to the professor Mirjana Najchevska, the whole process around the Law on Pardoning is just creating a fuss.

With the voidance made by the Constitutional Court it is unclear which law and which articles are in power, and in a situation like this the decisions made by Gjorge Ivanov are under question. I believe that if one former president has made a decision in a proceeding undisputed by nobody, the request for its voidance is utterly unprincipled. If so, all pardons made in the last 20 years can be problematized. There is neither legal, nor political decision in this whole situation. It seems to me that this entire process is just creating a fuss – Najchevska believes.

The professor Gordan Kalajdjiev believes that Ivanov cannot withdraw the pardon.

We all know that this law was passed on purpose, so the last pardons can be withdrawn. The President was even given a deadline, because it is really incorrect to take away something already given – Kalajdjiev believes.

However, if Zaev requests withdrawal of his pardon, then, according to the professor, the arguments would tip over.

The arguments as legal security, which are against the withdrawal of something already given, would be in second plan, if Zaev requests withdrawal of his pardon – Kalajdjiev says.

According to Petar Arsovski, political scientist, the entire confusion created by the politicians about the withdrawal of Zaev’s pardon regarding the case of “Global” is just one negative campaign.

Everyone understands that the pardon won’t be withdrawn, and the things the two parties do is just represent a negative campaign for collecting political points. I believe that the politicians are caught in political hysteria of collecting political points, but these points do not bring new voters, they just encourage the party members – Arsovski believes.

The leader of SDSM, in the last press conference held on 7 June 2016, called Ivanov to withdraw the pardon about “Global” if there are legal grounds for such action.

I have answered several times, but I am once again officially calling. I am calling Gjorge Ivanov to void the pardon given eight years ago for the case of “Global”, and if there are constitutional and legal grounds for it, he ought to do so immediately. In addition, I emphasize that the crime regarding “Global” is only in the head of Nikola Gruevski. The crime about “Global” does not exist. “Global” is the first public – private partnership in Macedonia, the first project with the awards for best practice in Macedonia, and the Macedonian public knows all of this. But, once again, to make everything clear. If there are constitutional and legal grounds, I am publicly calling Gjorge Ivanov to void the pardon about the case “Global” – Zaev answered.

SOURCES:

Заев се крие зад аболицијата за „Глобал“ (accessed on 10.06.2016)
Прес-конференција Зоран Заев (accessed on 10.06.2016)
Иванов ги укина сите аболиции (accessed on 10.06.2016)

All comments and remarks regarding this and other Vistinomer articles, correction and clarification requests as well as suggestions for fact-checking politicians’ statements and political parties’ promises can be submitted by using this form

This article was created within the framework of the Project to increase the accountability of the politicians and political parties Truthmeter implemented by Metamorphosis. The article is made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for Democracy(NED) and The Balkan Trust for Democracy (BTD), a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, an initiative that supports democracy, good governance, and Euroatlantic integration in Southeastern Europe. The content is the responsibility of its author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Metamorphosis, National Endowment for Democracy, the Balkan Trust for Democracy, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, or its partners.