North Macedonia to chair Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum

The Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia will chair the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum (BCCF) next year and will host the Fourth Forum, set to take place on December 12-13, 2026.

The Constitutional Court President, Darko Kostadinovski, officially took over the presidency at the 3rd BCCF Annual Meeting, held in Antalya, Türkiye, CE Report quotes MIA.

Kostadinovski will represent BCCF in regional and international events and conferences organized next year.

“In a special session dedicated to key issues related to the statute of the Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum, President Kostadinovski told members that at the 4th Forum, to be held next year in the Republic of North Macedonia, an honorary guest will be the President of Austria’s Constitutional Court, Christoph Grabenwarter. Also, it will be attended by special guests from the Venice Commission, the European Court of Human Rights, representatives of the courts in Egypt, Spain, Azerbaijan,” the Constitutional Court said in a press release.

This decision, it added, was preceded by the adoption of the statute and the Forum’s Antalya Declaration obliging its members to respect the principles of rule of law, democracy and promotion and respect of human rights in the Balkan countries.

“These two documents reaffirmed BCCF’s existence as a permanent body and an independent judicial platform for key constitutional jurisdictions between the Balkan countries as well as the need a separate statute to be adopted to define the Forum’s organizational structure,” said the press release.

Addressing a session as part of the 3rd annual conference, Kostadinovski focused on standardisation of human rights and the role of constitutional justice.

The Balkan Constitutional Courts Forum (BCCF) was established in October 2023 at the initiative of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria. The presidents of the constitutional courts of the Republic of North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Türkiye signed a memorandum of understanding and establishment of the Forum.

Photo: Constitutional Court