MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
-Unofficial translation- By Judicial Reform Implementation Project/DPK Consulting as a part of its Technical assistance in the area of legislative drafting Published at the Official Gazette on June 1, 2007, Effective Date: June 15,2007
COURT BOOK OF RULES
Skopje, June 2007
Pursuant to Article 84 paragraph 1 of the Law on Courts (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no.58/06 and 62/06), and upon a prior opinion by the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, the Minister of Justice has adopted the following
COURT BOOK OF RULES
SECTION ONE
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS ON THE INTERNAL OPERATION OF COURTS
Chapter One
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
The Court Book of Rules regulates the internal organization of courts, manner of their operation, keeping registry books and other books, dealing with documents, forms, activities related to international legal assistance and acting upon written submits, calling and organizing lay judges, positioning of permanent court certified translators, interpreters and expert witnesses, keeping of statistics and records and professional training of personnel, regulations for special marking of the court vehicles, keeping penal records, records of the misdemeanor sanctions determined by law, records collected with authorized monitoring of communications, other matters regulated by law, as well as other issues relevant to the operation of courts.
Article 2
The internal operation of courts shall ensure legal, prompt and efficient operation, as well as, unhindered, cost effective and timely realization of rights and obligation of parties.
Article 3
The provisions from the Court Book of Rules shall be applied also in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, unless certain matters are separately regulated with separate provisions or with the Book of Rules of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia. The president of the court and the court secretary shall ensure the application of the Court Book of Rules. The judges and other court employees shall directly apply the Court Book of Rules within the frames of their scope of work. The Ministry of Justice shall take care for the application of the Court Book of Rules and shall supervise its application.
2 For the needs of monitoring the Court Book of Rules, the Minister of Justice can establish a Committee that will give professional opinions on the application of the court Book of Rules. The Committee shall be composed of five members: one justice from the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, one appellate court judge, one basic court judge and two representatives from the Ministry of Justice.
Article 4
The application of the Court Book of Rules in performing the activities of court management shall also be followed by the President of a higher instance court, in particular by following the activities of lower instance courts, inspections, reports, holding meetings with president judges, judges and other employees, as well as by reviewing the activities of the court management. The President of the higher instance court shall point out to the President of the relevant court the determined irregularities and omissions regarding the application of the Court Book of Rules.
Article 5
The work program of the court shall contain specific activities and tasks from the scope of operation of the court, in particular: - the type and number of cases the court will act upon; - the activities and tasks related to tracking and studying the problems arising from the court practice, that are relevant for the proper and unique implementation of the law; - the activities and tasks related to initiation of a procedure for evaluation of the legality and compliance with the Constitution, if such an issue arises in the course of the court procedure.
Article 6
For the purpose of obtaining greater publicity in the work, the court trial shall be held in a premise that allows presence of a greater number of individuals.
Manner of keeping classified information with appropriate level of classification determined by law
Article 7
Court employees, in the course of performing their duties related to data, cases and materials, shall act in a manner that ensures keeping the classified information with appropriate level of classification, especially in relation to the entry and distribution of data, filing of documents, providing documents for review and not allowing unauthorized persons to read, transcribe or make notes from documents, pursuant to Articles 94 and 95 of the Law on Courts.
3 Chapter Two
COURT MANAGEMENT 1. Internal Operation of the Court Management
Article 8
The internal operation of the court management includes the following activities: - manner of performing the internal operation of the court, departments and offices; - preparations for defining the annual work program; - ensuring timely and efficient performance of the activities; - preparation of financial plans, calculations and annual balance sheet; - conduct of court and administrative activities by applying the most relevant technical means and methods; - preparation of general acts on the internal organization and systematization of activities and tasks, labor relations, establishment and distribution of working assets and other general acts that govern the internal relations in the court and the collective agreements; - preparation of materials, draft decisions and conduct of administrative activities related to the work; - keeping records and summoning lay judges and attorneys, ex officio; - performing activities in relation to the permanent court interpreters, translators and expert witnesses; - filling out statistical reports and statistical questionnaires; - performing activities related to international legal assistance; - professional development and training of judges and other court employees - provision of material, financial, spatial and personnel conditions for operation of the court; - performing activities related to issuance of a court bulletin; - managing the court building and property and taking care of their maintenance; - taking up measures for timely and efficient enforcement of sanctions; - keeping penal records and performing activities from the penal records keeping; - performing activities related to the misdemeanor sanctions; - keeping records on the misdemeanor sanctions; - performing activities related to the records collected with authorized monitoring of communications; - other matters regulated by law,
2. President of the Court
Article 9
The President of the Court, in the line of his/her responsibilities for provision of conditions for operation of the court, shall ensure the direct application of the provisions of the Court Book of Rules, undertake measures for removing the weaknesses and mistakes, take care for orderly, efficient and timely conduct of activities (court
4 management activities) preparation, service and acting upon decisions from the court management field.
Article 10
The President of the Court shall investigate the reasons due to which a main inquiry or hearing for the main hearing has not been scheduled within the set time limit or the reasons for exceeding the time limit for pronouncing, publishing and preparing a decision and shall undertake appropriate measures for removing these obstacles. The President of the Court shall supervise the work of the specialized court departments, intake office and other offices by reviewing the registry books, calendars and other supporting books that keep permanent track of the cases. The president of the court or the court secretary, by reviewing the duties and efficiency of court departments and separate offices, shall have a continual insight in the work of the court in general and of the employees and shall undertake relevant measures to prevent the postponement of procedures for cases that last longer and for removal of gaps and mistakes in the work of the court.
Article 11
The president of the court may propose certain activities and tasks to be reviewed on a meeting of judges and measures to be undertaken for removal of the irregularities and weaknesses in the work, as well as for improvement of methods of work for achieving better results. 3. Meetings and Debates
Article 12
The President of the Court shall, when needed, summon the lay judges for the purpose of discussing current and important matters related to their work.
Article 13
Courts shall occasionally hold debates and consultative meetings together with representatives from other courts, bodies and organizations regarding the application of laws. All judges shall participate at the meetings and debates, but in cases the topics of such meetings refer to the field of work of a separate court department, only the judges from that department shall participate.
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Article 14
The review of draft regulations and other materials, upon which the court needs to give its own opinion, suggestions or remarks shall be performed at a session of judges, while in case of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, at a general session. The joint meetings of the court, and the bar, notaries, enforcement agents and mediators from that region shall be held for the purpose of reviewing issues of mutual interest, the work of the court, provision of legal help and the performance of the court function.
4. Records and Training of Court Interns
Article 15
Records shall be kept for all court interns and for each of them a separate form shall be prepared containing data about the time spent in specialized court departments and offices or in some other bodies where the court intern has been sent to practice and information regarding the tasks and activities conducted by him/her. (Form no.1) The working diary kept by the court clerks shall contain the activities and tasks they have performed in the course of the month (Form no.2) Upon finishing the practice, the head of the specialized court department or the body shall verify the working diary, thus confirming the accuracy of data regarding the performed activities and tasks in the court or the relevant body. The court secretary shall take care of the proper instructions given to court interns for performing their practical work, thus directly supervising their work.
5. Professional Library
Article 16
A professional library shall be organized within the courts. The copies from the professional library (laws, official gazettes, magazines, necessary legal literature, collection of video, audio tapes and IT mediums for data storage) shall be used in the premises of the library, and if needed, they may be used outside of the library, but, only upon an approval by the court secretary.
6. Records of Instructions and Other Documents
Article 17
6 Instructions, announcements and letters regarding the application of the Court Book of Rules shall be registered in the “Su” registry and the employees will be informed about it in writing or by electronic mail.
Article 18
Instructions announcements and letters from Article 17 shall be kept in a manner that enables their use, and the same shall be kept until the revocation or expiration of the period for which they have been issued. The new instructions shall also contain the number of the former instructions announcements and letters. The instructions and other letters shall be registered by entering them on the inside part of the file cover, set for the inventory.
7. Court Statistics and Reports
Article 19
The courts collect, arrange and deliver statistical data about their work presented in prescribed forms and in statistical questionnaires. The courts shall fill out the statistics reports and questionnaires based on the data in the registry books, court decisions or in other manner, within the determined time limits. Article 20
The statistics reports that are filled out shall be submitted to the competent bodies, higher instance courts, Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Council of the Republic of Macedonia and shall be used for the preparation of annual and periodical reports for the work of the courts. The court shall submit the statistics reports that are filled out to the State Statistics Bureau for further jurisdiction.
Article 21
The records for the time limits for submitting the statistical data to the relevant bodies shall contain the following: title of the statistical form, the body to which the filled statistical form needs to be delivered, and the end date for submitting the data. Each month the courts compile reviews of activities, showing the number and type of unresolved cases, number of received cases, number of scheduled cases, number of disposed cases, the manner of resolving them and the time necessary to prepare the decision, number of cases that by the end of the reporting period remained pending and number of confirmed, amended, revoked and partially revoked decisions upon appeal.
Article 22
7 All matters related to the statistical reports and questionnaires in the court shall be carried out under the direct supervision of the president judge, the head of the intake office or the authorized employee who is tasked to collect and arrange the statistical data .
Article 23
The president of the court, at a meeting of judges and the president of a higher instance court, separately and jointly, shall analyze periodically the court statistical data and work reports of the basic courts and shall undertake measures for unification of the court practices, while the president of the higher instance court shall point out the weaknesses in the work and shall give proposals for their elimination, and if needed shall also inform the Ministry of Justice.
8. Lay Judges
Article 24
A directory of lay judges shall be kept. The directory shall also contain data referring to the performance of duties by the lay judge (Form no.3).
Article 25
The request for summoning lay judges shall contain: the type and number of the case, day and hour of the court trial and note about the professional vocation (Form no.4). The request pertaining to paragraph 1 of this Article shall be entered in the records – calendar of summoned jurors (Form no.5). In case the trial is postponed, it shall be determined in the request by name to summon the lay judges who participated in the previous trial.
Article 26
In the course of summoning the lay judges, the following aspects shall be taken into consideration: their capabilities and other skills relevant for proper judgment of the case, as well as their distance from the court, traffic connections and equal participation in performing the function during the mandate.
Article 27
The president of the council shall inform the lay judges of the content of the case prior the beginning of the court proceeding.
Article 28
8 Upon request by the lay judge, a decision for compensation of costs and lost earnings related to the performance of the function of a lay judge shall be passed by the president of the council. The decision from paragraph 1 of this Article, besides the type and number of the case in which the lay judge has participated, shall also have the number of the “Su” registry book. Immediately after the conclusion of the trial, the president of the council shall issue to the lay judge a confirmation of the time passed in performance of the duty.
9. Expert Witnesses, Interpreters and Translators
1. Permanent Expert Witnesses
Article 29
The expert witnesses shall be chosen from the list of permanent expert witnesses in the court. The list of permanent expert witnesses shall be compiled by the president judge of each court, based on public announcement published in at least two public information medias, each two years. The president judge, with a decision based on the gathered data on their professional capabilities and qualifications shall appoint expert witness from the list of expert witnesses which have applied for the field of expertise. The president judge is obligated to update the list of expert witnesses every six months, and a copy of the list of expert witnesses shall be delivered to each individual judge.
Article 30
The decision for appointing the expert witness shall contain basic data on the expert witness and his/ser field of expertise. Data about professionals in the particular field shall be acquired from the relevant bodies prior the appointment of expert witnesses. The list of permanent expert witnesses shall be submitted by the first instance court to the appellate court. (Form no.6).
Article 31
The statement signed by expert witnesses before the president of the court shall also contain the words that they will “conscientiously and responsibly” perform the duty of an expert witness.
Article 32
9 Each court shall submit the list of permanent expert witnesses to the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” for publishing.
Article 33
The information that an expert witness will no longer be able to perform the duty due to a change of domicile or residence, old age, illness, loss of working capabilities, incapability or other justified reasons shall be submitted to the authorized person in the court for keeping the list of permanent expert witnesses in order to delete him/her from the records.
2. Permanent Court Interpreters
Article 34
The decision, by which, the president of the basic court appoints an interpreter on permanent basis or for a particular case shall contain the basic information about the interpreter and category of persons s/he communicates with (deaf, mute and deaf-mute) – (Form no.7). Data about professionals in the particular field shall be acquired from the relevant bodies and other legal entities prior the appointment of interpreters. It is obligatory to distribute a copy of the list of interpreters to each individual judge.
3. Permanent Court Translators
Article 35
Permanent court translators appointed by the Minister of Justice, upon request from the court, state body, other institution or citizens, shall translate oral or written texts from Macedonian into foreign languages and vice versa.
Article 36
The candidate who is applying for court translator status has to be a citizen of the Republic of Macedonia, has to have active knowledge of the Macedonian language, to have high education, certificate of active knowledge of the foreign language, his/her dwelling address, respectively address of residence to be in the area of the court that he/she is asking to be positioned in as permanent court translator.
Article 37
If the court does not have permanent court translator for certain language, a court translator for specific case shall be appointed.
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Article 38
The request for appointment of a court translator shall be submitted to the Ministry of Justice, together with the documents for fulfillment of the conditions from Article 36 from this Book of Rules.
Article 39
The Minister of Justice shall establish a Committee to test the foreign language knowledge of the candidates for court translators. The Committee shall have one president, two members and a secretary and their deputies. One member of the Committee, the secretary and their deputies shall be appointed from the ranks of the civil servants of the Ministry of Justice, and the other two members and their deputies shall be appointed from the ranks of the professional persons in the high instance educational institutions for foreign languages. The knowledge test shall be performed at least twice a year (April and October). The knowledge test shall be performed with written and oral test. The Committee shall inform the candidate, at least 15 days in advance, about the date, time and place for testing the knowledge of the foreign language.
Article 40
The court certified translator shall be appointed in the court on the territory where s/he has a domicile, or permanent residence. The decision for appointing a court translator shall contain the language into which s/he translates. Should the court certified translator change his/her domicile, s/he may, upon his/her request, be transferred by a decision into another basic court. For each change of the personal name, place and address of dwelling , the interpreter is obligated immediately to inform the Ministry of Justice, and the change shall be registered in the Directory of translators.
Article 41
The permanent court translator shall give a solemn statement before the president of the court where s/he is appointed. The solemn statement shall be stated orally, it shall be signed and it will have the following wording: “I declare that I shall perform the duty of permanent court translator for ______language conscientiously and responsibly”. The day when the statement is made shall be entered in the Directory of permanent court translators kept in the basic court.
11 The Directory of court certified translators kept by each basic court shall contain basic data about translators and translations (Form no.8). The court shall notify the Ministry of Justice about the date when the statement of the permanent court translator has been made.
Article 42
The Ministry of Justice shall keep a Directory of permanent court translators for each court and language in alphabetical order of translators. The following data shall be entered in the Directory: 1. Reference number; 2. Surname, father’s name and name of translator; 3. Profession, address and telephone number and email address; 4. Number and date of the decision for appointment and the number of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia where the appointment has been published; 5. The court where the translator is appointed; 6. Day and place when the statement has been stated; 7. Number and date of the decision for dismissal of the translator; 8. Note.
Article 43
The court certified translator shall have a round seal with a diameter of 33mm, containing the name of the Republic of Macedonia, surname and name of the translator, designation – permanent court translator of the foreign language, name of the basic court where s/he is appointed and the seat of the court.
Article 44
The permanent court translator shall keep a book of performed translations and certifications thereof (Form no.9). The court certified translator shall conscientiously, responsibly and neatly perform his/her duties and confirm each translation by his/her signature and round seal.
Article 45
The verification of the translator, placed bellow the performed translation shall contain the number under which the translation was registered in the book of translations, date, signature and stamp of the translator. The text of the verification shall read as follows: “I confirm that I have correctly made the translation from ______in ______language.
Number ______Round Seal TRANSLATOR Date ______
12 The text of verification shall be written both in Macedonian and in the language of translation, where the text in Macedonian language shall be written on the left side, while the text in the foreign language on the right side of the paper.
Article 46
If the written translation consists of several pages or sheets of paper, all pages shall be marked with numbers, the sheets shall be connected and determined in a relevant manner. Each sheet of the translation shall have a signature and a round seal of the translator. The translation shall be clean, it will not be crossed out, and the names shall be transferred literally from the original. The verification clause shall be placed bellow the translation.
Article 47
The president of the court shall supervise the work of permanent court translators, s/he shall ensure the orderly and timely performance of their duties, while for the determined irregularities in the work, s/he shall inform the Ministry of Justice. The president of the basic court shall provide help to the translators for proper performance of their duties, and occasionally shall review the book of translations and verifications and make a report about the findings. A copy of the report shall be delivered to the Ministry of Justice and to the translator whose book of translations and verifications has been subject of the review. A list of translators for the territory of a particular court shall be displayed on the information board of the basic court in alphabetical order and for each language separately. At the end of the year, the president of the court shall inform the Ministry of Justice about the status and activities of the permanent court translators, while if needed, s/he shall do it in the course of the year, as well.
Article 48
The court certified translator shall be dismissed from duty if: 1. s/he requests to be dismissed; 2. s/he becomes incapable to perform this duty; 3. it is determined that s/he performs the duty of a translator unconscientiously, irregularly and unprofessionally; 4. it is determined that s/he has no dignity to perform this duty; 5. the price s/he charges for the translation services an award which is higher than the one set in this Book of Rules; 6. s/he is sentenced to imprisonment for a criminal act for at least six months. The procedure for dismissal shall be conducted by the Ministry of Justice, upon a request from the permanent court translator, upon proposal from the president of the court or ex officio.
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Article 49
Should the translator cease to work as a court certified translator, the president of the court where the translator has been appointed shall, within 3 days, close the “Book of Translations and Verifications” and deposit it in the archive of the court, while the round seal of the translator shall be cancelled and the Ministry of Justice informed thereof within 15 days. The Book of Translations and Verifications and the canceled seal shall be kept permanently.
Article 50
The Ministry of Justice shall publish the list of permanent court translators in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.
Article 51
The permanent court translator shall have a right to remuneration for his/her work pursuant to the regulation for remuneration of costs in the court proceedings.
Article 52
The permanent court translator shall be entitled to compensation of costs when translating outside the place of his/her residence, pursuant to the regulations for compensation of costs and lost earnings of witnesses, expert witnesses and interpreters in the court proceedings. Pursuant to the regulations of paragraph 1 of this Article, the permanent court translator shall also be entitled to compensation of lost earnings.
Article 53
For oral interpretation in the court proceedings, or upon request by a state body, notary, enforcement agent, mediator, other institutions or citizens, the permanent court translator shall be entitled to remuneration for the translation and compensation of costs related to the translation. The whole time period from the arrival of the translator in the court until the need for his/her presence ceases shall be considered as the time spent for translation
Article 54
The permanent court translator shall issue a receipt (bill) to the person requesting the translation for the received remuneration and compensation.
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Article 55
The Minister of Justice shall pass a Manual on the manner and conditions for appointing, testing and dismissal of the permanent court translators.
Chapter Three
COMMUNICATIONS WITH CLIENTS AND OTHER PARTIES AND BODIES
1. Orientation in the Court Building
Article 56
The name “Republic of Macedonia”, name of the court, seat of the court, and coat of arms and flag of the Republic of Macedonia shall be displayed on the building where the court is situated.
Article 57
An orientation board shall be placed in a visible place near the entrance of the court, containing the following information: list of working premises according to the type of work, office numbers of premises where the departments and services are situated, court councils with the names of presidents, or individual judges, as well as of employees who perform more significant tasks with the clients. At the entrance of each premise, a sign shall be placed for indicating the department, council or the service, name of the judge (e.g.: ”Criminal Council – President of the Council NN”, “Individual judge NN”, “Intake Office”, “Criminal Department of the Intake Office”, “Accounting”).
Article 58
Court announcements and notices shall be displayed on the information board located in a visible place in the court. A list of scheduled court proceedings for that particular day shall be displayed at the entrance of premises where court proceedings take place and on the information board every working day, prior the working hours, while the lists of already held proceedings shall be removed. The list from paragraph 2 of this Article shall contain: an order of scheduled proceedings, number of the case, names of parties and their representatives, hour of proceeding and premise where it will take place.
15 The list from paragraph 2 of this Article shall also be announced electronically in front of the trial premises.
Article 59 The court shall provide premises for lay judges and attorneys and they need to be equipped with the necessary technical devices.
2. Equipping of Premises
Article 60
Working premises in the court need to be equipped with office furniture and other necessary technical devices, as well as to be tidy and well maintained.
Article 61
Cases, official materials, stamps, seals and office equipment of greater value shall be kept locked.
3. Working with Clients
Article 62
The receipt of filings and other writs and verifications shall be performed during the working hours. Receiving of clients and other parties who are not summoned to the court at a certain time for the purpose of reviewing writs, issuance of certificates and requests for notifications shall be carried out during a set time period. The same time period for receiving clients shall be set for all court departments and services. The time period for receiving clients, from paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, shall be set with the working schedule and cannot be shorter than four hours a day and the same shall be displayed on the court information board, as well as at the entrance of the working premise where clients are received. Judges and lay judges shall not receive clients and other parties, except when invited. Clients and other parties, who due to the distance and other justified reasons have difficulties for repeated appearance in the court, shall be received out of the set time period for receiving clients.
Article 63
16 Where the operation is interrupted for a limited time period, due to justified reasons, the responsible employee shall provide appropriate replacement. Notices based on data from registry books and writs shall be provided by the intake office. The notices shall be limited only to essential data regarding the status of the procedure for a particular case. Other information regarding the status of writs may be provided only to parties authorized for reviewing writs. Information can be provided by telephone or in writing, at the expense of the party requesting them. Explanations regarding the regularity of court actions, decisions and statements on the eventual come out of the case shall not be permitted.
Article 64
The parties are entitled to review, transcribe and copy the writs of the procedure in which they participate according to the law. Other parties, which have legal interest, can be allowed to review, transcribe and copy the writs, if the procedure is ongoing, the permit for this action shall be issued by the president of the council, respectively the individual judge, and when the procedure is closed the permit shall be issued by the president of the court, respectively an authorized person in the court that he/she will appoint. The reviewing and transcribing of the writs, upon field request, shall be performed in the intake office, in a determined time and place, under the supervision of an authorized court employee. The authorized court employee who acts upon the case in the intake office is obligated to separate from the writs of the case the minutes from the counseling and voting, as well as the evidences that are marked as confidential with certain level of confidentiality, unless they are placed in a separate closed envelope, and to remove from the case in advance the draft court decisions and court notes. The authorized court employee who acts upon the case in the intake office is obligated after the return of the case from the reviewing and transcribing, to return the separated writs and to check whether all the writs are in the case file, according to the inventory of the writs. The authorized court employee in front of whom the reviewing and the transcribing of the writs takes place is obligated to ask for identity documents from the person who is requesting to review the case and to determine his/her identity. The person who has performed the review of the writs of the case shall confirm his/her action with his/her signature at the confirmation which becomes part of the writs of the case. (Form no. 157)
4. Issuance of Certificates, Confirmations and Excerpts from Public Books
Article 65
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Upon request by clients and third parties having legal interest, confirmations and certificates shall be issued for certain facts contained in writs or for facts for which official records are being kept by the court and excerpts from public books, as well, provided that the President of the Court, or the judge who acts upon that case estimates that the request is justified. The issuance of confirmations and certificates shall be performed by the intake office. Confirmations shall not be issued for the content of court decisions, record books and other acts in the writs, but only transcriptions and excerpts.
5. Communication Between Courts and Other Bodies
Article 66
The president of the court according to the rule shall establish the communication between the court and other bodies. In the course of the procedure for separate cases, the judge who works on a case shall directly communicate with other courts, public prosecutor’s offices and other bodies, while other employees only if authorized.
Article 67
Requests for legal assistance and letters requiring reports, announcement and undertaking certain actions need to be clear and legibly written on a typewriter or computer. They shall contain the indication of the case, name and surname of the party, or the representative or the proxy, as well as the case and short description of the request. In case of requesting a hearing of clients and other parties, the circumstances for which they need to express their opinion shall be precisely stated. The requests referring to civil cases shall have to contain an indication whether the public is excluded from the hearing, whether the parties gave up the right to participate at the hearing and whether the party requested from the witness to give statement under oath. Due to justified reasons, the case shall also be submitted to the court together with the request for legal assistance. The time limit for returning the case shall be recorded in the list of submitted cases that need to be returned. (Form no.10). In the reply to the request, the court that acted upon it, shall call upon the indication of the case it has acted upon.
Article 68
During the procedure on certain cases, when more important remarks of the court should be given, regarding the operation of other bodies, which are of general importance, the letters shall be signed by the president of the court,
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6. Undertaking Court Actions Outside the Court Building
Article 69
The court shall also undertake court actions outside the court building when it is stipulated by law. For taking up actions pertaining to paragraph 1 of this Article, compensation shall be determined as well as reimbursement of the expenses for the enforcement agents for undertaken actions determined with a decision of the president judge.
Article 70
Several court actions shall tend to be performed in one field trip. The field trips shall be recorded in the diary for official field trips (form no.11).
Article 71
The court function outside the seat of the court shall be performed during previously set court days. The time and place of these court days shall be entered in the working schedule and displayed on the information board of the court and in the council of the municipality.
Article 72
Court days, as a rule, shall be used for holding hearings, inquires and discussions of the court proceedings, should the parties summoned for that purpose, be in the area where the court day takes place. Hearings, inquiries and discussions shall be organized so that the summons and other writs are serviced promptly, indicating the place and time of the court day, taking into consideration the scheduled terms and time that parties need in order to prepare.
Article 73
Cases that are acted upon during the court day shall be entered in a special list for that purpose (Form no.12). The list shall be recorded in the registry “Su” and it will be delivered to the judge, together with the cases,. Received filings during the court day and compiled minutes which do not refer to cases entered in the list pertaining to paragraph 2 of this Article shall be entered in a
19 separate list according to the order of their receipt which, after the end of the court day shall be verified by the judge and clerk of the intake office. A note referring to the day of receipt, which is considered as a day of receipt in the court shall be placed at the filing. Filings and minutes, received or composed during the court day, upon their return to the court shall be immediately submitted to the employee in charge of receiving filings, who upon confirming the receipt of filings and minutes in the list, shall affix a stamp for receipt next to their ordinal number containing the following words: “received during the court day (place, date, month and year) under the ordinal number _____ of the list, and then shall submit the same to the head of the intake office, or the responsible person of the department or the office. The list of operations performed during the court day shall be submitted to the president of the court and the same shall be kept together with the writs of the court management. For the verifications made outside the court, a special registry shall be maintained “ZAV II”.
7. Acting upon Matters Related to International Legal Assistance
Article 74
Activities related to international legal assistance shall be performed in the basic courts with due care (verifications of documents for use abroad and similar type of documents). Due care shall be paid to the composition of the writ, its form and legibility, the quality of the paper. Also, an imprint of a seal shall be affixed on the writ and attention shall be given to the proper communication and preserving the reputation of the court. Should the document not meet the requirements pertaining to paragraph 1 of this Article and harm the reputation of the Republic of Macedonia, the president of the court or the appointed judge, who is a direct supervisor of the matters related to international legal assistance, shall not verify the documents and shall direct the person filing the request to submit a proper document, which will be suitable for use abroad according to its format and design, as well.
Article 75
The basic court shall maintain the following registry books on matters related to international legal assistance: 1. Registry “ZAV-S” for verification of documents for use abroad (Form no.13); 2. Registry “ZAV-H” for verification of documents related to the Convention for termination of the need for legalization of foreign public documents (Form no.14); and 3. Registry “ZAM-S” where the requests of domestic and foreign courts and bodies are entered for service of writs abroad and provision of legal assistance (Form no.15).
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Article 76
The president of the court or the appointed judge, shall, with the deposited personal signature in the Ministry of Justice, confirm that the person has signed the document before the court or has recognized his/her signature written on the document. The text of the verification shall be placed immediately after the document, as a continuation.
8. Acting upon Filings and Proposals
Article 77
The president or the appointed judge shall immediately, upon reviewing the content, take into procedure the filings and proposals submitted by the citizens to the court, and shall answer to the persons who submitted them not later than 30 days upon their receipt.
Article 78
The president of the court or the appointed judge shall secure the provision of necessary data and clarifications of the relevant body for issues referring to the filings or proposal that were submitted and shall notify them about the undertaken measures upon their request.
Chapter Four
COMMON PROVISIONS FOR COURT OPERATIONS
1. Compendiums, Transcriptions and Photocopies
Article 79
A compendium, within the frames of court operations, shall be the decision compiled in a defined form (verdict, decision, order, agreement, certificate, confirmation or other court document) signed by a judge, president of a council and authorized employee for conducting this kind of activities. The compendium shall be prepared in a written form, according to the provisions for preparation of decisions. The compendium of decisions shall, as a rule, be written on a typewriter and remain in the records.
Article 80
21 Transcriptions shall be prepared on a typewriter or computer and they need to be clear and legible, with content and form relevant to the compendium. Photocopies need to be legible so as to enable the reader to recognize the designations in the document. Transcriptions and photocopies shall be prepared in the intake office, or the photocopying office. They shall be delivered to parties after the head of the intake office, respectively the authorized employee, confirms with his/her signature its accuracy in the blank part of the note: “the accuracy of the transcription or the photocopy is confirmed by ______”. If due to the similarity of separate types of decisions, there is a possibility to use forms, the transcripts can be prepared by filling in the forms in an adequate manner.
Article 81
A compendium may be prepared in an abbreviated form for decisions that are often repeated. The compendium of a decision referring to the management with the procedure shall consist of the basic words that are essential for the decision and which can explain the core of the issue. In case the proposal is accepted, it shall be written at the compendium of the decision or at the proposal itself that the proposal is accepted. Also, the number of the form may be indicated if the decision may be prepared also by filling in a printed form or by following the sample of the form filed in the book of forms and is shall be delivered to the party. If the decisions are prepared in an abbreviated form, or by affixing a stamp, the note for acceptance of the proposal shall be written on the imprint of the stamp. Regarding the use of the stamp, the employee shall be instructed by the following words: “stamp permitted. Costs ______denars. Date ______. Signature ______.
2. Abbreviated Transcripts
Article 82
Where the proposal for permitting an enforcement, issuance of travel order or making a similar decision is compiled in a manner that is completely in conformity with the decision that needs to be adopted, and is submitted in a sufficient number of copies, an abbreviated transcript of the decision may be issued by affixing an official stamp that contains the text of the decision made upon the proposal. The abbreviated transcription shall be prepared even when the decision of the court is placed in the compendium with a stamp. Courts shall ensure, the submits for cases, upon which abbreviated transcriptions may be issued, to be filed by the parties and their legal representatives in sufficient number of copies and columns, to be suitable for making abbreviated transcription and to have enough space for affixing a stamp.
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3. The Form of Courts Decisions and Writs and Manner of Writing and Signing Thereof
Article 83
In the course of preparation of decisions in writing, the legal terminology shall be used, while the use of foreign words and words not generally accepted in the court practice shall be avoided. The written material shall be clear and comprehensible, and the style in compliance with the dignity of the court and not offending for the personality of the parties and other entities. In the court decision and its explanation, the duration, type and severity of the sanction, monetary amounts in trial procedures and the expenses of the procedure shall be written in numbers and letters, while the parties in the trial procedure shall be mentioned in their full capacity, name and surname (e.g.: the first complainant, the second defendant and the third accused). The titles of laws and other regulations mentioned in the text may be written in an abbreviated form, while the titles of laws and other regulations not frequently used, shall be written in their full title, with the number and date of the official publication, in which they are printed. Abbreviations may be used in the text only if they are widely accepted and comprehensible and if they do not create ambiguity with respect to their real meaning.
Article 84
Decisions from the field of court management and their transcriptions shall be signed by the President of the Court or by the judge replacing the President in case of his/her absence. Requests and other writs referring to cases from different court departments shall be signed by the President of the Council or by the individual judge. If the decision or the writ is prepared on the basis of a written decision or instructions by the President of the Council or the individual judge and they refer to summoning parties, witnesses, expert witnesses, submission of a complaint, reply to a complaint and other matters falling under the scope of work of the intake office, the signing can be performed by the head of the intake office or by the authorized employee thereof.
Article 85
The text of the court decision shall be legible and orderly, prepared on a computer or a typewriter, in the literary Macedonian language and its Cyrillic alphabet. As an
23 exception, due to the specific nature of certain court matters, decisions or writs can also be written in ink (minutes for investigation, cancellation of cases in an enforcement procedure). The title of the court shall be placed in the upper left corner of decisions and other writs that do not have an introductory part, as well as the mark indicating the case, date and address of the court.
4. Forms and Stamps
Article 86
For certain activities and for the need of record keeping the court shall use printed forms that are constituent part of the Court Book of Rules. The court may, for its own needs, prepare and print other forms for certain activities and issues that are often repeated, such as the regular correspondence, receipts and reports by which information or other actions are requested from other bodies.
Article 87
Relevant stamps shall be used for short and frequent notes, signatures, court orders, operation instructions and similar court activities, which text, type and size are prescribed in this Court Book of Rules. In addition to the mandatory stamps prescribed by Article 88 of this Court Book of Rules, the court may use other stamps, as well, if they facilitate its operations.
Article 88
The following stamps shall be mandatory in courts: 1. for indicating an urgent procedure – “urgent”, or the nature of case – “detention”, “juvenile”, “support”, “disrupted behavior”, “presenting of evidence”, “interim measures”, “labor disputes”, and “bankruptcy”; 2. for giving order for determination of inquiries or hearings; 3. for confirmation that an appeal has not been filed against the verdict or the decision; 4. for confirmation that the compendium is given for execution in the intake office and notes thereof; 5. for issuing an order for sending writs in the archive; 6. for confirmation of receipt of writs; 7. for making a note that the tax has been paid prior the archiving of the writs; 8. for making a note for exemption for payment of taxes and expenses; 9. for issuing an order for sending the writs for a review to a higher instance court; 10. for permit for issuing a travel order; 11. for signatures on transcripts; 12. for confirmation of the legal validity of partial validity, respectively enforceability, on the basis of judge’s decision;
24 13. for confirmation of a certification of signatures and seals pursuant to Article 3 of the Convention for termination of the need for legalization of foreign public documents; 14. for recording the debts in the control book for the paid monetary fine; 15. for submission of a complaint to the opposite party and requesting a reply; 16. for verification of signatures of persons authorized for signing documents intended to be used abroad; 17. for verification of signatures on statement of citizens, power of attorneys and other documents which are to be used abroad; and 18. for determination of time limits during which the documents will be kept in the court’s archive.
Article 89
Authorized employees shall operate with the seals, stamps and marks. Seals, stamps and marks shall be kept locked. Records shall be kept for all seals, stamps and marks.
Article 90
A round seal of the court shall be put on the transcriptions of court decisions, official certificates and other documents submitted to the parties, courts and other bodies. The sealing wax shall be affixed with a metal stamp, containing the same text as the round seal.
5. Restoring Cases and Writs
Article 91 A procedure for restoring the writs shall be initiated if a certain case or part of it is lost, destroyed or significantly damaged and thus becomes useless. If the cases are still in procedure, the restoring procedure shall be initiated ex officio with a decision made by the President of the Court. In cases where the procedure has been legally valid, the restoring procedure shall be initiated in case of existence of certain interest in it. The President of the Court shall make a decision regarding this issue ex officio or upon request by the party or the public prosecutor. The procedure for restoring of a case shall not be initiated if the time limit for keeping of such cases, as determined in the current regulations, has expired. The restoring procedure for cases that are in progress shall be managed by the President of the Council or the individual judge to whom the case was assigned, according to the work schedule, while regarding the documents according to which the procedure is completed, the President of the Council, or the individual judge appointed by the President of the Court shall be in charge, with a decision for initiation of the restoring procedure. Only the documents that have a significant meaning for the procedure shall be restored.
25 The restoring procedure shall be made on the basis of transcriptions of lost, destroyed or damaged documents at disposal to the party or the court, data from registry books and other books, electronic files from the court information system, and statements of parties, witnesses, expert witnesses, representatives and other participants in the procedure, if needed. In case of having no data for certain activities, and the statements by the mentioned persons are not identical, these activities shall be repeated if there is still not decision passed with legal validity. Parties shall be informed only about the loss of those documents, for which the procedure is in progress, and at the same time shall be invited to submit transcripts of filings, minutes, court decisions and other documents they have at their disposal.
Article 92
The proposal for restoring a case or certain documents of a case shall be entered in the register book “Su”. Upon the finished restoring procedure, the basic and the restored case or the document shall have the sign of the case or the document upon which the restoring was initiated.
6. Collection of Taxes
Article 93
The tax stamps shall be affixed on the first page of the documents, in the upper right corner of the copy that remains in the court. In the course of affixing and annulling the tax one needs to be careful not to damage the text on the document. The tax for documents and transcriptions shall be submitted to the court as not annulled.
Article 94
If the document is sent by mail, the payment slip for paid taxes shall be enclosed with it, or respectively the tax stamps shall be affixed on it.
Article 95 The President of the Court, President of the Council, individual judge and head of the intake office shall permanently supervise the payment and annulment of court tax (hereinafter: tax) for all procedures. The case may not be archived until the president of the council, respectively the individual judge signs his/her own note that taxes have been paid and properly annulled, or that a request for compulsory payment has been submitted to the relevant body for financial matters.
26 A stamp containing the following words: “tax paid – application submitted” shall be affixed on the cover page of the file cover, in the right corner, bellow the symbol of the document.
7. Exemption from Payment of Taxes and Expenses of the Procedure
Article 96
The exemption from payment of taxes and expenses of the procedure shall be indicated in the upper right corner of the file cover, while for the minutes and other documents, the same shall be indicated on the first page of the document by affixing the relevant stamp. The decision for exemption from payment of taxes and expenses shall be indicated on the day of its adoption. Separate amounts of taxes and expenses that have not been paid by the parties due to exemptions from payment shall be entered in the inventory of taxes (Form no.17). The expenses of the procedure that have not been paid by the parties due to the exemption, and have been compensated from the Budget shall be entered in the inventory of expenses (Form no.18). The tax should be paid when the tax obligation is due. Should the invited party fail to pay the tax in spite of the warning, the duty shall be collected by force. A case may not be archived if the court has not yet decided upon the compensation of the expenses of the procedure and if the payment has not been made or has failed to determine the inability for payment.
Article 97
Upon the legal validity of the decision, which orders the party to pay the expenses that have been paid from the court budget assets, the intake office, or the intake department shall enter data in the control book of expenses of the procedure, which indicate that the party has been exempted from payment of such expenses.
8. Prior Deposit of the Determined Amount of Expenses of the Procedure
Article 98
In cases where one or both parties need to deposit a certain amount of finances for expenses that may eventually occur in the process of obtaining evidence, the president of the council or the individual judge shall invite the parties to deposit the monetary amount on a deposit account.
27 The decision on the basis of which the amount is deposited shall contain the following: name, surname and address of the invited party, the amount which is to be deposited, time limits and consequences that will occur due to the failure to deposit the amount within the set time limits. If the decision pertaining to paragraph 2 of this Article also produces another decision for organizing a hearing for presentation of evidence, the summons for the hearing shall be sent after the conclusion that the necessary amount of assets has been deposited. When organizing a hearing for presentation of evidence, special attention shall be paid to the time limit for depositing, so as to have enough time for prompt service of summons to parties and other persons.
Article 99
The accounting department of the court shall inform the intake office that a prior payment of a certain amount was made in order to be able to perform all the activities related to the further proceeding of the case. If the prior payment is not made within the set time period, the head of the intake office shall determine the situation in the order for delivery of the decision for payment of the amount and shall submit the case to the president of the council or the individual judge.
9. Entry of General Power of Attorney
Article 100
If the representative of the party calls upon a general power of attorney which may be found in the documents, the intake office or the department of the intake office, prior the submission of the case to the president of the council or individual judge shall check if a transcript of the power of attorney has been enclosed to the case and whether it is cancelled. Such a status of the case shall be determined by referring to the reference number of the document to which the compendium of the power of attorney is attached or the ordinal number from the registry book of the court administration, under which the general power of attorney is registered.
10. Refunding of Assets Paid as Lost Earnings
Article 101
If special regulations provide for the right of a body to require refunding of the amount paid to an employee as compensation of lost earnings due to his/her invitation to the court, the court, upon the performed activities, shall be obligated to issue a certificate to the employee for realization of his/her right to compensation of lost earnings (Form no.19).
28 The certificate shall contain data about the time that the invited employee has spent in the court and in which capacity, as well as deadlines by when the entities from paragraph 1 may request refunding of the paid compensation. If the payment is made from the entered amount for covering the costs of the procedure, the certificate shall indicate that the amount shall be refunded to the depositor if a refunding of the paid amount for compensation is not requested within the set time period.
Article 102
The intake office shall keep records of the issued certificates to employees for absence from work upon invitation by the court (Form no.20).
Article 103
The case shall not be archived until the payment for compensation has been made by the court, for which special records can be kept. If the body does not submit a request for payment within a determined time period, the case shall be archived after the conclusion that the time limit has expired.
Article 104
If the court, in the decision, has already decided about the expenses of the procedure it shall decide additionally about the paid expenses that have not been covered by the court’s decision.
11. Use of Technical Devices, Equipment and Other Aid
Article 105
An official note shall be prepared for use of technical devices, equipment and other aid for telephone conversations, for sent or received announcement and interventions, which are attached to the case – documents, and it shall contain information, date and signature of the employee who prepared it.
Article 106
A telegram or a facsimile or electronic mail shall be used in urgent cases or in cases where the damage for parties may not be prevented or removed in any other way. A telegram, facsimile or electronic mail may be used for approving, scheduling, postponing or rescheduling a hearing or an inquiry, or for revoking summons.
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SECTION TWO
COURT’S ACTIVITIES
Chapter Five
ACTING UPON WRITS SENT TO THE COURT
1. Receiving of Writs
Article 107
Receiving of writs (submits, acts, money orders, telegrams, packages and other packets) shall be carried out in a determined place of the intake office. During the receipt of documents, it shall be taken care to remove all the defects that make it impossible or difficult the action upon them.
Article 108
The writs shall be received during the working hours, by indicating the day, hour, and minute of reception. . Only telegrams, facsimiles and urgent writs shall be received after the working hours and on the days when the court is closed. Such documents shall be received by an appointed employee.
Article 109
The appointed employee for receiving documents can not reject the receipt of documents sent to the court directly from parties. If the writ contains defects of formal nature (e.g.: not signed, no attachments stated in the text, no address of the party), the employee shall indicate such defects and require to be removed. If the party requires the written document to be received in spite of the instructions, the employee shall receive it and shall mark the instructions in the writ. If the court is not authorized to act upon the filing, the employee shall direct the party to the authorized body, but if the party still insists the filing to be received, the employee shall receive it and write the instructions on it.
30 Article 110
The appointed employee for receiving documents shall confirm the receipt of the filing by affixing a stamp on the copy of the writ.
Article 111
The receipt of writs from other bodies shall be confirmed by affixing the date, legible signature and a seal in the delivery book, on the receipt of delivery, receipt for return or at the copy of the writ, if it is submitted. The time of receipt, by indicating the hour and minute thereof, shall be written in cases where it is regulated by separate regulations or determined by the president of the court. This data shall be marked on the envelope of the received submit, if the employee who receives it is not authorized to open it.
Article 112
The receipt of writs sent to the court by mail and collecting the same from Post Office Boxes shall be performed by an authorized employee. If the postal packages with indicated value or registered mail are damaged, the authorized employee shall reject the receipt and request from the post office the conditions and the content of the package to be determined in presence of a committee, and only then to receive it together with the minutes for the determined condition.
Article 113
If the employee who receives packages, is not authorized to open them, s/he shall be obligated to deliver them to the employee who is authorized for opening them, immediately after the receipt, upon writing down the date and time of receipt (hour and minute) on the envelope. This shall in particular refer to packages addressed personally to the president of the court, judge, investigative judge, the ones marked as confidential or strictly confidential and packages in relation to competition, biddings and similar. These packages shall be delivered to the president of the court, judge or investigative judge closed, while the envelope containing the statement of final will shall be delivered to the competent judge. The delivery of regular packages to the authorized employee for opening shall be made directly, while the registered mail, marked as confidential or strictly restricted and other kind of mail, which receipt is confirmed in written, shall be delivered by registering it in a book. 2. Opening and Check up of Mail
Article 114
31 Regular mail, received in a closed envelope, shall be opened by an employee from the intake office appointed for reception. The mail, marked as classified information with appropriate level of confidentiality, and the mail addressed personally to the President of the Court, respectively the judge shall be opened by the President of the Court, respectively the judge. The mail, having a sign on the envelope which indicates that it contains a statement of final will or that it refers to a former procedure shall be opened by the competent judge. Money orders and other securities shall be opened in the presence of a committee.
Article 115
The mail shall be opened carefully, taking care not to damage the documents, nor mix the attachments, or any document or attachment to remain in the envelope. Also the numbers written on the envelope shall be checked if they match with the numbers of the letters received. Where a document is missing or only the attachments have been received but not the letter, or the sender cannot be determined, the status shall be determined in the official note attached to the envelope and the sender shall be informed about it. The envelope shall be enclosed to the received documents in cases where the date of delivery of the mail is important for counting the time limits (appeals, competitions) or where it is impossible to determine the place of sending and the name of the sender from the document, and the data are indicated on the envelope. If several documents are sent in one envelope, the envelope shall be enclosed with one of them, while the number of registration, under which the documents were registered, shall be placed on the other documents (e.g.: “envelope to attachment no.180/96”). Where the date on the postmark is illegible or the date of delivery cannot be determined with certainty, a report shall be requested from the Post Office if the promptness cannot be determined in any other way. Where a damaged envelope has been received and there is a suspicion for unauthorized or deliberate opening, minutes shall be prepared in the presence of two more employees from the court where the type and extent of the damage shall be determined. The minutes shall be signed by the present employees. Deficiencies and irregularities determined during the opening of packages shall be indicated by short notes added immediately next to the affixed stamp of receipt (e.g.: “received without attachments”), or where certain attachments are missing, their titles shall be indicated. In case the envelope contains a document addressed to other body, the following note shall be written (e.g.: “wrong delivery”) and the same shall be sent to the relevant body in the most convenient way. Such a document shall be entered in the Registry “Kr” or “R”. The aforementioned notes shall be prepared and signed by the employee who opens and checks the mail.
32 If it is determined during the opening that the writs contain money, securities or items of value, a short note shall be prepared with a statement about the kind and value thereof. These values, upon registering the writ shall be delivered to the employee in charge for the material and financial operation with a signature. Where a receipt of delivery is attached to the writ, the receipt shall be confirmed on it by writing the date and signature and affixing an official seal, and sending it back to the sender.
3. Acting upon Filings Subject to Payment of Fees
Article 116
The employee in charge for receiving writs shall define which filings are subject to payment of fees, the amount of the fee and if there are legal grounds for exemption from paying it. If during the check up of writs it is concluded that the fee has not been paid for the filing, or that lesser amount has been paid or that the party has been exempted from payment, he/she shall indicate that by affixing the relevant stamp. If a receipt for the payment of the fee is not attached to the filing, the employee shall advise the party to pay it within a determined time period.
4. Affixing a Receipt Stamp
Article 117
It is obligatory to affix a receipt stamp on each new copy of the filing sent to the court. (Article 88, item 6 of the Court Book of Rules). The imprint of the receipt stamp shall be affixed on all copies, at the first page in the middle of the upper part of the document. If there is no enough space, the imprint shall be affixed on a convenient place on the first page, and if that is impossible, it shall be affixed on the backside of the paper in the upper left corner. If both sides of the paper are filled with text, the imprint of the stamp shall be affixed on a piece of paper, which is attached to the writ.
Article 118
A note for receipt shall not be included in the report for receipt of oral statements, but it shall be submitted directly to the head of the intake office. Reports for received oral statements referring to registration in public books shall be submitted immediately to the employee appointed for receipt of documents for the purpose of putting a note for receipt.
5. Classification of Received Filings
Article 119
33 Received filings shall be classified according to the designation of relevant registry books and immediately submitted to the head of the intake office. Filings referring to the work according to public books shall be submitted immediately and directly to the administrator of public books. Filings referring to cases of urgent nature or which require immediate action shall be submitted without any delay, while the others shall be submitted in the course of the day, at the time set in the working schedule. Filings related to time limits and containing important documentation shall be classified and submitted separately. A designation defined with special provisions for certain types of procedures shall also be placed on filings stated in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article (Article 88, items 1-22 Court Book of Rules).
Article 120
If objects, money, securities or items of value have been submitted together with the filing, a sign “deposit” shall be placed in the upper right corner of the submission with a red pencil and the further acting upon them shall be conducted in compliance with the provisions of the Court Book of Rules for material and financial operations of the court.
Chapter Six
ACTING UPON RECEIVED FILINGS
1. Forming a Case
Article 121
An authorized employee shall distribute the received filings to employees appointed for performing relevant activities and tasks in the intake office. The received and distributed filings that are used for creation of a new case shall be entered in relevant registry books under the date of receipt, as well as in certain directories. A system of card files may be introduced instead of registry books. Telegrams, facsimiles, and filings with certain time limits, as well as other urgent acts, especially if delivered through facsimile, shall be copied obligatorily and upon their registration in the registry, shall be delivered to the relevant department of the court. If due to the large number of received filing or due to other justified reasons, the filings cannot be recorded during the day of their receipt, they shall be recorded the latest during the following day prior to the registering of the new mail, under the date of their receipt.
Article 122
34 Filings that are used for creation of a new case shall obtain a new case cover (for criminal procedures (Form no.21); for civil and commercial disputes (Form no.22); for administrative disputes (form no.26); for inventory of the writs (form no.23); for misdemeanors (Form no.24). The case covers for other types of cases (e.g. probate procedures, interim measures, obtaining evidence etc) shall be created in the same manner and shall have the relevant content. An abbreviation of the relevant registry (“Kzm”, “Gz”, “Uz”, and others – Form no.25) shall be placed on the case cover of the second instance cases. On the case cover of the Administrative Court an abbreviation of the appropriate registry book shall be placed (Form no.26). The Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia shall have special case covers for filings in the criminal and trial court procedure (Form no.21, 22 and 25).
Article 123
The name of the court shall be written in the upper left corner of the front of the case cover, the designation of the writ shall be placed in the upper right and lower left corner, while the data referring to the case and names of the parties shall be placed in the middle. Short signs, stipulated in Article 87 of the Court Book of Rules, shall be placed above the initial text “case cover”.
Article 124
Before the number of the case, an abbreviation of the registry shall be written, ordinal number and last two numbers of the year when the submission has been received (e.g. K.no.181/07). The number of the case on the envelope shall also contain a roman numeral of the court council where the case has been processed, and it shall be placed before the abbreviation for the registry.
Article 125
If the number of the case, type of registry or the judge is changed in the course of the procedure, the former designation shall be crossed out and a new one shall be placed. If in the course of the procedure a change is made of the specialized court department in the same court, or the jurisdiction of the court is changed, the case will receive new case cover. The new filings and subsequent court decisions shall get the new number of the case.
2. Inventory of Writs
Article 126
35 In the course of creation of a case, the employee who maintains the register shall record the filings in the inventory on the basis of which it is created and shall mark the number of sheets of paper. Filings received during the period when the case was still in the intake office or in the court council or the individual judge shall also be recorded and chronologically marked. For more voluminous cases in the previous procedure, the inventory of documents may be administered separately for each defendant or for each criminal act. In addition to the ordinal number of the inventory, the writs shall also be marked with a sub-number. Court decisions made on the document itself, recorded in the inventory of documents shall not obtain a new sub-number. The sheets of paper of documents shall be marked with the current number, in red pencil and in the right upper corner, starting from number one regardless of the sub- number. The number of sheets of paper shall also be written in the relevant column of the inventory of the document. Short reports that have no importance for the course of the procedure shall not be entered in the inventory. Returned delivery receipts for the proper service of the court decision shall be entered as an attachment under the ordinal number of the decision they refer to, they shall be pasted on it and enumerated (ex: 10/1, 2, 3).
Article 127
Filings referring to cases that are still in procedure shall be attached to the cases in chronological order of their receipt. Regarding the cases that need to be joined together for the purpose of undertaking one procedure, the employee who maintains the registry shall check in the directory (card files) and registry if that case is still in procedure or is resolved and shall inform the head of the intake office about the result, while the latter one shall inform the competent judge.
3. Arrangement of Writs
Article 128
Filings shall be recorded and pasted according to the order they have been entered in the inventory of writs. The arrangement shall be conducted in the way that the submits of an earlier date shall be placed ahead of the writs that have been received later on. Employees who record filings in the inventory of writs shall be obligated to make the paste immediately. The writs are pasted on a form which is included in the inventory of writs. The forms consist of ten, twenty or fifty sheets of paper, 30cm long and 5 cm wide. They have holes in two places and are tied together. During the creation of the case, in the inventory of the writs are included forms with ten, twenty, and as exception fifty sheets of paper, depending on the size of the case. The documents are previously sowed together.
36 The documents which due to their size or inappropriate features cannot be pasted in the writs, shall be kept aside and a note about that shall be included in the case.
Article 129
Employees who act upon a case shall deal with them cautiously, taking care the documents to be always tidy and glued. If the case is not arranged according to the manner prescribed in Article 126, the second instance court shall return such case to the court for proper rearrangement.
4. Distribution of Cases and Writs for Processing
Article 130
The distribution of cases to the relevant judge or the reporting judge or department, if no further action needs to be undertaken in the intake office, shall be conducted by the intake office, while the documents of urgent nature shall be passed on immediately as a priority. After the undertaken action by the judge the case shall be returned back to the intake office. The distribution and return of cases into the intake office shall be recorded in the column of the registry for movement of cases. Documents received and kept within the term for submission, shall be hand out after this term expires, upon being properly marked (e.g. “no other appeal”, “no objection”). Requests for exemption of judges, lay judges, as well as written filings and complaints shall be submitted to the President of the Court, judge or the employee that s/he will appoint.
Article 131
For the cases received from judge or reporting judge track shall be kept for the whereabouts of the case (Form no.27).
Article 132
Distribution of cases and writs from the intake office to the judge or reporting judge and the office shall be made by way of internal distribution book which is kept for each court council, individual judge and office (Form no.28). Taking and returning of separate files from documents shall be recorded by a short note in the documents. When the judge, reporting judge or the office returns the cases and writs to the intake office, the same shall also be recorded in the document.
37 Article 133
When the law stipulates that a citizen of the Republic of Macedonia, member of a community which is not the majority and who speaks an official language different from the Macedonian language is entitled to realize the right to use his/her own native language and alphabet during the procedure, the writs shall be translated into Macedonian language and its Cyrillic Alphabet, immediately before submitting them for processing to the competent judge and parties. Translated writs shall be verified in the court by the court translator. Writs shall be translated according to the order of their receipt to the court, except when the case is about urgent writs referring to detention, appeals and other urgent matters, which are translated within the time limits defined for the action according to law.
Chapter Seven
WORKING OF COURT COUNCIL AND INDIVIDUAL JUDGE
1. Order of Acting upon Cases
Article 134
Cases shall be decided upon according to the order of their receipt, except in urgent or other justified cases, provided that the exception from the determined order does not infringe the rights of parties in other cases. In criminal proceedings, the cases where a person is in detention or serves a sentence or where a person has been removed from duty or temporary prohibited to perform an occupation, activity or duty shall be put into procedure as a priority. In misdemeanor proceedings priority is given to the cases where the defendant is detained, or if the defendant is a foreign citizen (urgent), if the defendant is temporarily working abroad, cases where goods or other objects were seized temporarily or the defendant is temporary prohibited to perform certain activity. In civil proceedings, cases related to support, disturbed possession, labor disputes, proposals for provision of evidence and decisions for interim security measures, commercial disputes in bankruptcy procedures and disputes for cancellation of lease agreements for apartments shall have a priority. In criminal, trial, administrative and other proceedings, cases for which the procedures last longer and cases which according to special regulations are treated similarly shall also have priority. The judge who acts upon a particular case and the president of the courts shall take care for the processing of cases according to their order of receipt or urgent and priority cases.
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2. Scheduling of Inquiries and Hearings
Article 135
The president of the court or the individual judge shall study the case and if there is no need for undertaking further actions, s/he shall set the date and hour of the inquiry, hearing or trial. The scheduling of inquiries and hearings for several cases at the same time shall not be permitted, except if several cases have been merged for the purpose of administering a single procedure. The number of inquiries and hearings during one working day shall be determined according to the duration of certain official actions, number of summoned parties, type and number of evidence and complexity of the procedure, taking into consideration the working hours of the court and time of the parties involved to be rationally used. The hearings and inquiries shall be scheduled every second day. The adopted decisions shall be processed during the subsequent free day, and cases shall be studied and preparations made for the following day. Judges who act simultaneously both as individual judges and presidents of councils in basic courts, shall schedule hearings and inquires during the same day for cases for which they act both as individual judges and presidents of the councils, by dealing first with cases in a position of individual judge and then dealing with cases that are decided upon in a council. When summoning parties who live outside the territory under the court’s jurisdiction, the distance of the place from the seat of the court shall be taken into consideration, the possibility for timely service of summons, traffic connections, weather conditions and other circumstances that may have impact on the effectiveness of the work. When scheduling inquiries and hearings for which summons and requests are sent abroad, the date of the inquiry or the hearing shall be scheduled so that the service of summons and acting upon the request may be performed on time, in compliance with the international conventions. As a rule, the terms pertaining to paragraph 8 of this Article may not be shorter than three months.
Article 136
Decisions for scheduling inquiries and hearings has to be clear and complete. The following data shall be correctly stated in it: name and surname of summoned parties with eventually more detailed data (nickname) profession, domicile, street and number and in what capacity the party is summoned.
39 Previously determined stamps may be used on the decision for scheduling an inquiry or hearing. Should the submitted filings, complaints, indictments, suggestions and other writs contain evidence marked with numbers, in the decision by which an inquiry or hearing is scheduled shall be enough to make reference to that particular writ by indicating the number of parties that are to be summoned at the inquiry of hearing.
Article 137
In case the inquiry or the hearing is interrupted or postponed, the court shall be obligated immediately to set the date and hour when the inquiry or the hearing is to be held or continue, determining at the same time the parties that are to be summoned. The present parties, included in that decision shall be informed by the court about the date and hour of their coming and presence at the inquiry or the hearing, and that this announcement replaces the summons. The decision for interruption or postponement shall contain the correct addresses of parties that are to be summoned, in case they were not present at the inquiry. The general tendency is the postponed cases to have the same lay judges.
Article 138
The scheduled inquiries and hearings shall be entered in the working diary of the individual judge or the president of the council according to the date (Form no.29). Other activities related to deadlines shall be dealt with in the same manner.
3. Decisions for Other Actions
Article 139
Decisions (orders, warrants) for other actions have to be clear and contain all necessary data, on the basis of which, the intake office may act efficiently.
Article 140
The president of the council or the individual judge shall specify the term for pre- registering in the order for scheduling an inquiry or a hearing, while the term for registering shall be specified in the decision which is submitted for other actions, as well. The date of these time limits shall be written on the cover of the cases in the lower right corner of the cover page, in the relevant column.
Article 141
Decisions by which inquiries and hearings are scheduled, as well as the ones for service of writs and other actions shall be prepared on separate clean sheets of paper. The court shall print a special form for that purpose.
40 It is not permitted such a decision to be written on a complaint, reply to a complaint, indictment or suggestion, attachments, filings and other acts.
4. Record Books
Article 142
For court actions undertaken in the course of the procedure, inquiry or hearing, for more important statements and announcements made by parties or other participants, statements they make outside the inquiry or hearing, as well as for other actions of the court regulated by special regulations, minutes shall be prepared. The minutes, as a rule, shall be prepared in necessary number of copies, depending on the number of parties and shall be written on a typewriter or computer. For the copy of the minutes, the party shall pay the determined fee, unless otherwise stipulated with other provision. As an exception, when the minutes are prepared outside the court (in the field), it can be written in ink, as well. The procedure of the inquiry or the hearing or separate phases of it may be recorded in shorthand or audiotaped or videotaped. The shorthand notes shall be decoded and transcribed on a typewriter or computer, the latest within 48 hours, they will be reviewed and signed by the stenographer. The content of the audio recording shall be written on a typewriter or computer the latest within 48 hours, and will be signed by the employee who did the recording. The shorthand notes and decoded text shall be attached to the minutes. Tapes of the audio or video recording shall be kept or destroyed, depending on the decision of the president of the council or the individual judge. The same decision shall stipulate the place and manner of keeping the recording.
Article 143
If a preparation of an official note is stipulated for a performed official action, the date and place of the action shall be entered, in particular if it refers to cases where less important statement or data are to be received by parties or for announcement of parties. Official notes shall be signed by the judge or the employee who prepared them. If the note contains a statement made by a party or an announcement given to a present party, the party shall sign the note, as well.
Article 144
The sessions of the council, where the council makes decisions outside a main inquiry or hearing, the records shall be maintained in a separate book which contains the following: date of the held session, name and surname of the president and members of
41 the council, the clerk of the court and reporter, whether the parties were present at the session for a criminal case, suggestions presented at the session, number of the case, type of the request for which a decision has been made (e.g.: appeal of the plaintiff, objection to the indictment) and what type of decision was passed. The decision shall be presented in the shortest form as possible (verdict, ruling – confirmed, changed, objection denied).
Article 145
The minutes for advising and voting shall have the number of the minutes of the held inquiry or hearing. The minutes for advising and voting shall be filled in by the court clerk and closed in a separate envelope containing the following words: “minutes for advising and voting from ______(date)”, while in the upper right corner, the number of the case shall be placed and the seal of the court affixed. The sealed minutes for advising and voting shall be placed in the case, which was decided upon and then attached to the minutes for the inquiry or hearing. If the deciding upon the case has been carried out outside the main inquiry, the minutes for advising and voting shall be attached to that case.
Article 146
In cases where a note is prepared instead of minutes for advising and voting, it shall contain the following: the date of the advising, name and surname of the president and members of the council and the reporter judge, as well as a statement that the decision has been unanimously passed or with majority votes. The note shall be signed by all members of the council, as well as by the court clerk. 5. Other Activities
Article 146
Adopted decisions in compendium, shall be delivered to the intake office with an instruction for further action.
Article 148
The instruction shall specify whether the intake office shall keep the case in the pre-registering or in the registering files, or shall attach it to another case, as well as the further actions that need to be undertaken.
Article 149
In case a legal remedy is permitted with the decision, the copy that needs to be delivered to the party shall also contain that advice.
42 The advice regarding the legal remedy shall contain: the type of the legal remedy, to whom it can be submitted, the deadline and number of copies to be submitted, type of delivery (directly or by mail), as well as the amount of court fees.
Article 150
Verdicts and other decisions shall be delivered to the intake office for transcription, with the necessary instruction, the latest by the deadline stipulated in certain procedures for their preparation. The delivered orders shall also contain the date of their issuance. Cases for which inquiries or hearings have been held and for which decisions have been adopted for further acting upon them shall be returned to the intake office during the same day and the latest by the following day for their recording in the registry and acting upon the decision.
Article 151
Cases put into procedure shall be kept by the council or the judge only as long as it is necessary to prepare the decision. The prescribed deadlines shall be strictly respected. Chapter eight WORK OF THE SESSION OF THE COURT DEPARTMENT
Article 152
The work in the courts as a rule is performed in specialized court departments. The court departments as a rule are established for the following areas: criminal, civil, commercial, labor disputes, probate, administrative disputes, misdemeanors, analytics and other type of legal area. For certain type of disputes (ex.: copy right disputes, industrial property and similar) within the court departments of the extended jurisdiction courts separate departments can be established.
Article 153
The president of the department convenes a session of the department, upon request from the judges in the department or the president of the court and assigns reporter and co-reporter. He/she takes care for the preparation of legal opinions and conclusions passed at the session as well as for the implementing of the activities important for the functioning of the department and fulfillment of the working programmes. Article 154
Together with the invitation of the session, an agenda will be enclosed as well as the materials that will be discussed at the session.
43 The invitation and the materials for the session shall be distributed to each judge, senior court advisor, independent court advisor, court advisor, judge’s assistant and court intern which are part of the department, not later than 8 days prior to the session, and for urgent and current issues, this time limit can be shorter.
Article 155
When two departments participate in the resolution of a legal issue, the joint session shall be convened by agreement of the both presidents of these departments and each department shall appoint its own reporter. The president of the department, whose field of work covers the issue that will be discussed, shall chair the session.
Article 156
The senior court advisor, independent court advisor, court advisor, judge’s assistant and court intern of the department are entitled to participate in the discussion of the session of the department and of the joint session, following the topics of the agenda.
Article 157
For full-fledged decision making of the sessions of the departments it is necessary to have present at least two thirds of the judges of the department, while for full-fledged decision making of the joint session it is necessary to have present at least two thirds of the judges of each department.
Article 158
If there is no consent of the votes at the session of the department or the two departments have different positions during the joint session, the disputed issue shall be presented at the session of the judges. The same actions will be undertaken if the council during the repeated decision making does not in accordance to the legal opinion of the department. The judge who does not agree with the adopted legal opinion of the session of the department or the joint session, can propose to the president of the court to present the issue at the session of the judges. In this case he/she will prepare a written proposal for his/her legal opinion.
Article 159
Minutes shall be maintained for the work of the session, which will contain all the opinions presented at the session, as well as the result from the voting. The minutes from the hearing shall be signed by the president of the department who chaired the session and the employee who maintained the minutes.
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Article 160
Draft of the legal opinion accepted at the session shall be prepared by the reporter, if his/her proposal is not accepted, them the judge assigned at the session. The draft shall be distributed to all the members of the department. The final text shall be harmonized with the possible remarks. The legal opinion shall be deemed as accepted if two thirds of the judges of the departments have voted for it. The legal opinion, composed in written form is signed by all the members of the department . The judge who does not agree with the accepted legal opinion or with the disposition or the explanation, shall not sign the legal opinion, but shall separate his/her opinion and shall attach it to the compendium of the accepted legal opinion.
Article 161
The president of the department determines the manner in which the department for court practice shall register the legal opinions accepted at the session of the department. The president of the department shall also determine the manner of registering the court practice.
1. Session of the department for legal practice
Article 162
The department for legal practice shall harmonize the work of all court departments in the performance of the tasks which refer to keeping records and study of the court practice. In the court practice department, in the courts with bigger amount of work, a separate service can be organized for keeping records of the court practice. At the session of the court practice department a plan shall be passed for monitoring the court practice.
Chapter Nine
OPERATION OF THE INTAKE OFFICE AFTER THE ADOPTION OF COURT DECISIONS
1. Acting upon Decisions
Article 163
45 The chief of intake office or department shall distribute the cases to employees, who are appointed for conducting certain duties according to working schedule and conclude when the case has been received in the intake office. The intake office or the department shall perform the necessary activities, invite parties and other individuals to scheduled hearings, transcribe, compare, send and join together files and documents and write the necessary notes. A note referring to the service (Article 88 item 4 of the Court Book of Rules) shall be written on the compendium of the decision provided that the intake office has been ordered to deliver such court decision. Where only a delivery of certain documents has been ordered, or a receipt of delivery or report, a note shall be written below the order stating whether it has been acted according to it, or the reasons due to which it has not been acted according to the order. If the verdict and other decision are prepared on the basis of dictation or in any other manner, the necessary number of copies for the parties and the court shall be prepared simultaneously, and only after that the case shall be delivered to the intake office for further processing. In such cases, the intake office shall compare it, register it and put a note for the delivery.
Article 164
Recording of data in the register shall be made by writing down in appropriate column the date of held hearings, inquiries, decisions, pronounced penalties, measures of education and other measures or by placing the appropriate signs for the final resolution of the case. The dates of terms for delivery and registering, data about the movement of the cases in and out of the court shall be written in the appropriate column, or if there is no such column in the columns for writing notes, so as to be able to see where the case is and in which phase the procedure is at any time.
Article 165
Summoning of parties and other individuals to an inquiry or hearing shall be made through summons and it shall be filled in for each party separately. Employees shall be obligated to write the summons on a prescribed form according to the type of the case, and to write in full the names and addresses on a computer or typewriter. The invitation shall indicate the following: the name of the court, sign and number of the case, name and surname of the person, correct address, capacity in which s/he is summoned, date and hour when s/he needs to be appear in court, number of the office and floor, street and number of the building and the place of the court, and the consequences in case of not appearing before the court, as well as other enclosures determined with separate laws.
46 A seal and stamp of the court shall be affixed on the court summons, facsimile of the President of the Council or the individual judge, and a signature of the head of the intake office or the responsible employee. The writ, placed in a relevant cover, clearly filled in on a computer or typewriter shall be attached to the invitation (Form no.30). A relevant receipt of delivery (Form no.30-31) shall be attached to the summons. The time limit for registering and pre-registering shall be placed on the upper right corner of the receipt of delivery or receipt for return, bellow the case number (Form no.31). The appropriate text regarding the manner of delivery shall be indicated on the receipt of delivery.
2. Writing, Transcribing and Comparing
Article 166
Requests, or orders for bodies and parties for acting within a set time limit shall be written on a computer or typewriter in a sufficient number of copies out of which one remains in the case file. Requests used for requiring reports or notifications from bodies, or undertaking actions for certain cases shall be signed by the President of the Council or the individual judge. Requests that need to be sent abroad shall be signed by the President of the Court.
Article 167
All court decisions and other documents that are written or transcribed on a typewriter shall be submitted to the intake office. Preparation of decisions and other documents may be conducted if they have been audio recorded previously (dictaphone, tape recorder) and other devices. Typing on a typewriter or a computer shall be made on a paper in the standard format.
Article 168
Transcriptions shall be prepared in sufficient number of copies according to the decision for delivery. When transcribing decision against which a legal remedy is permitted, sufficient number of copies shall be prepared for the second instance court. When transcribing, attention shall be paid to cases that have priority for disposal. Transcriptions that are delivered to parties shall be tidy and legible. Upon the performed transcription or coping, the responsible employee shall be obligated to remove all mistakes from the text made in the course of transcription and to enter the date of transcription or coping in the imprint of the delivery stamp and put his/her legible signature.
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Article 169
All transcriptions shall be compared with the compendium. The comparison shall be conducted usually by6 two employees appointed according to the working schedule. Upon the conducted comparison, employees shall affix the relevant stamp, date and signature. In case a larger number of mistakes have been made in the course of transcription, the head of the intake office or department shall order the transcription of the whole decision or of a separate sheet of paper to be redone.
3. Sending and Delivering Decisions
Article 170
The President of the Council or the individual judge shall be obligated by the order to define the manner of delivering the decision or the document to the party. If there is no such order, the employee who is in charge for the sending, shall send the decision in the most convenient manner for certain cases, in compliance with the appropriate delivery or shall request instructions from the judge.
Article 171
Employees of the intake office or the department, who act upon the orders, shall be obligated to state below the order how many receipts of delivery, envelopes and other documents have been delivered and the manner of delivery (by mail, court courier, directly through the court, through public notary or other person stipulated by law or through the relevant office of the unit of the local self-government or other competent body).
Article 172
The service of court decisions and other documents shall, as a rule, be done by mail or by the official person of the court.
Article 173
If a proof is needed for the performed service of the court decision or some other document, the decision or the writ shall be delivered in an envelope together with a delivery receipt, if sent by mail. In case the service is performed in some other way, a delivery receipt shall be sent together with the decision and other documents. The envelope with the delivery receipt and the receipt for return shall contain the name and surname, address of the recipient and sender and the number of the case. For service in person, an envelope with a delivery receipt or receipt for return in blue color shall be used, while for the rest of the cases, an envelope in white color.
48 In case of service of summons for inquiries or hearings, the date of the term for pre-registering shall be placed above the text of the delivery receipt or the receipt for return, while for other cases, the date of the term for registering. When summons are delivered to a defendant in a misdemeanor case, a payment order shall be attached to the summons (Form no.32) The service of short information to the parties shall be made in and envelope without a delivery receipt, or receipt for return.
Article 174
Writs that need to be delivered shall be sent during the same day. Urgent writs shall be sent with the first mail or through an employee of the court immediately upon their receipt. Documents received upon the closing of the delivery book, if not urgent, shall be sent the following day. A stamp for delivery shall be affixed on the copy of the document that remains in the court or bellow the decision for delivery, as well as the date and signature of the employee, the number of delivery receipts, envelopes and other documents. After that, the manner of delivery shall be determined (by mail, court courier, directly through the court, through public notary or other person stipulated by law or through the relevant office of the unit of the local self-government or other competent body), and then the case shall be returned to the head of the intake office or the department for recording and marking it in the schedule. Documents that are to be sent on the same day and on the same address through the relevant office, local self-government unit or the other competent body, as a rule, will be placed in one envelope. If one of such documents is to be sent by registered mail, all other documents that were to be delivered regularly shall be placed in the envelope for registered mail. If a larger number of documents are to be sent on the same address at the same time, and thus cannot be placed in one envelope, they shall be packed and sent in separate envelopes.
Article 175
All packages sent by mail shall be classified as regular or registered and entered in the mail book (Form no.33). The mail book shall serve for recording the performed service of packages by mail and for reporting the mail expenses. For this purpose, every day, after the delivery of the mail the mail expenses are calculated and that amount is recorded in the control book (Article 180 of the Court Book of Rules).
Article 176
If the delivery needs to be confirmed by the receivers, a separate delivery receipt shall be attached for each party from Article 173. In case of delivery of documents by the official person of the court or directly in the court, the delivery shall be performed without an envelope.
49 The delivery of documents from the Public Prosecutor Office, with a seat in the court building, shall be performed directly, by submitting the documents in the intake office.
Article 177
In case the party requests to receive the document in person in the court, the employee who is in charge of the service shall do it if the receiver is familiar to him/her or if s/he determines his/her identity. The writ may be hand out to a authorized representative of the receiver if s/he has been authorized for that. Attorneys-at-law, who regularly received writs in the court, may be permitted to receive them directly in the court if that does not delay the service. In such cases, separate folders shall be built-in in the intake office where the writs are placed separately for each person and the official person of the court shall note at the delivery receipt the day when the writs were placed in the folder or the post box.
Article 178
Writs that are served without a delivery receipt through the court employee shall be recorded in a delivery book for places, and the delivery shall be performed immediately (From no.34). Writs that have not been served shall be returned to the court by indicating the reasons due to which the service was not performed, and the employee shall be release from the duties by recording it in the delivery book.
Article 179
Writs that are delivered with delivery receipts shall be recorded in the book for receiving and delivering of writs (Form no.356).
Article 180
` The intake office shall keep a control book for postage where the spent stamps shall be recorded and settled. The amount of money spent for stamps shall be entered every day in the control book for postage. During each new requisition of money for postage, the control book shall be concluded and submitted together with the delivery book for mail to the responsible employee for financial and material operation, for the purpose of supervision and approval of new amount for postage. The control book for postage shall be bound and pages marked and verified by the President of the Court (From no.36).
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4. Working on Cases with Time Limits
Article 181
Cases in procedure, except the ones that need to be delivered to judges during the same day and the ones submitted for transcription, comparison and sending, shall, as a rule, be kept in the diary of the intake office. Only cases for trials, cases upon which decisions need to be made after the held trial and cases upon which inquiries or hearings need to be determined or other decisions made may be delivered to judges. Records regarding the whereabouts and the phase of the procedure for separate cases shall be kept by the intake office by placing notes for the movement of documents in relevant columns of registry books, and if there is no such, in the column for notes of the registry. Notes referring to the movement of cases need to be kept in a manner that will enable to determine where the case is at any time of the inspection of the registry, while from the other notes, to determine the phase of the procedure.
Article 182
Cases for which inquiries and hearings are scheduled or time limits are established shall be maintained in a locked case – diary for cases, in the intake office. The diary shall be divided in partitions marked from 1 to 31, according to the days of the month. Cases shall be placed in relevant partitions, depending on the date, time limit, or day of pre-registry and registry, regardless of the month and year. Cases shall be kept in partitions and classified according to the ordinal numbers of the designations on documents, starting with the ones from the current year, followed by the ones from the previous years. If the case is taken for a temporary use prior the expiration of the set term, a note shall be placed in the diary containing information about the place where the case is located. Courts with a greater scope of work may have separate diaries for time limits and separate for hearings. Where the diary is not divided in the manner stipulated in paragraph 2 of this Article, the cases according to which time limits and hearings have been determined shall be kept together in the relevant partitions, but in separate case covers and in different color. Recording of inquiries, time limits and hearings shall be conducted by an appointed employee of the intake office. Inquiries, time limits and hearings determined by the President of the Council or the individual judge shall be recorded in the registry in the following manner: inquiries and hearings in separate columns, while the time limits in the column for notes.
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Article 183
Cases for which terms have been determined or inquiries and hearings scheduled shall be placed in relevant partitions of the diary, after being recorded in the registry books and after all the other necessary activities are performed. Cases pertaining to paragraph 1 of this Article shall be placed in term for pre- registering, while cases for which other terms have been determined shall be placed only when needed. If the date and hour of the trial have been announced to the parties and other persons, so that no other action is needed, cases shall be placed in the relevant partition for the day of the scheduled trial. Cases shall be placed in pre-registering in case it is necessary to check if certain activities, for which order have been given, were conducted, for a certain time period before the expiration of the determined time limit or day for which the hearing or inquiry has been scheduled. The pre-registering time limit, shall, as a rule, be determined in the following manner: two thirds of the time needs to expire from the date when the decision has been made until the day of the term for pre-registering, while until the day for registering (the day when the time limit has been determined or the hearing) one more third of the time. The pre-registering and registering time limit shall be determined with a decision by the judge, by which, s/he schedules the inquiry or hearing or some other action.
Article 184
The President of the Council or the individual judge shall determine the pre- registering and registering time limit by a decision for the case, defining the day and month, and the hour of expiration of the time limit if needed (e.g.: “pre-registering 19.V.2005 at 10 o’clock”, registering 19.V.2007 at 11 o’clock). The employee of the intake office shall record the determined time limits in the work schedule, place the cases in relevant partitions of the diary and sign below the judge’s decision. The employee of the intake office shall check the time limits and hearings every day. Cases from the diary for the following day shall be submitted to the judge during the previous day, prior the expiration of the term for performing certain activities, unless otherwise provided for certain cases. Cases for which pre-registration have been determined, an insight shall be conducted whether the activities have fully corresponded with the decision, or if all the delivery receipts and receipt for return for the performed delivery have been returned and filed in the case and if the requested reports have been obtained and put together. In such cases, the case with pre-registering term shall be placed in the partition for registering term. If due to reasons from paragraph 4 of this Article the scheduled inquiry or hearing does not take place, the employee of the intake office shall inform the President of the Council or the individual judge for the purpose of making a decision for postponement of
52 the inquiry or hearing. In such cases, all invited parties shall be notified. The President of the Council or the individual judge, together with the notification for postponement of the inquiry or hearing shall inform the invited parties about the date and hour of the new inquiry or hearing.
5. Supervision of the Office for Service
Article 185
The President of the Court shall be obligated to supervise the office for service every 15 days of the month, in cases where the service is performed through court couriers or by mail. The supervision shall be conducted on the complete operation of the office for service, as follows: manner of service, efficiency of service, receiving and submitting writs, possible problems, and shall take up all the measures for overcoming the service problems and for this purpose shall appoint the head of the intake office to perform all the assigned duties.
6. Joining and Separating
Article 186
When several cases are consolidated for the purpose of joint procedure, the case upon which a procedure has been initiated later shall be consolidated with the case upon which a procedure has been initiated earlier. If subject of the consolidation are cases that fall under the jurisdiction of an individual judge and cases under the jurisdiction of a council, all consolidated cases shall be added to the oldest one under the jurisdiction of the council. The cover of the consolidated case shall contain an indication of the case that has been added for the purpose of joint procedure (e.g. consolidated K.no.100/07). If the cover of the added case contains a special designation, it shall be placed on the cover of the consolidated case, as well. The inventory of documents of the earlier case shall be entered in the consolidated case under the subsequent ordinal number of the inventory of documents. If the consolidation of cases is conducted during an inquiry or a hearing, only the minutes shall be entered in the inventory of documents. In such circumstance, the case, which is added for the purpose of joint procedure, shall be recorded in the column for notes. If one case is attached to another for the purpose of checking it as a reference, the envelope of the case to which the other case is attached shall contain an indication in red pencil or red pen which case was attached (e.g. attached P.no.101/07). The indication on the cover shall be crossed out when the cases are divided after the performed check of reference.
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Article 187
If the case is divided prior the end of the procedure, for the purpose of initiating a separate procedure, verified transcriptions of writs referring only to that case shall be entered in the case. The separate designations referring only to that particular case shall also be placed on the cover of the separated case. These designations of the previously consolidated case shall be crossed out on the cover. A new inventory of documents shall be prepared for the separated case.
Chapter Ten
OTHER PROVISIONS ON THE OPERATION OF THE INTAKE OFFICE
Article 188
Employees of the intake office shall take care to handle the cases properly, tidy and promptly, respect the determined time limits, remove the obstacles for prompt resolution of cases and to put the case into procedure immediately upon their receipt. The intake office shall in particularly take care about the cases for which time limits have been determined or inquiries and hearings have been held, and for returning of cases with prepared decisions within the set time limits. A case upon which the decision has not been prepared shall not be considered as finished and shall not be recorded as such. The head of the intake office shall regularly, and at least every 15 days, inform the President of the Court about the cases upon which court decisions have not been passed or prepared. The head of the intake office shall advise the President of the Council, individual judge or some other employee who acts upon the case about the expiration of the set time limits, about the obvious mistakes in registry books and compendiums of court decisions, as well as about the obvious mistakes and omissions regarding the calculation of court fees and determination of time limits and hearings.
Article 189
The intake office shall put relevant notes on cases that have been acted upon regarding the acting or failure to act by the parties and other persons, as well as regarding the operation of the intake office (e.g.: “delivery receipt – receipt for return not returned”, “requested report not received”, “no reply to the complaint”, “an appeal not filed”, “the party failed to act within the set time limit”). A delivery receipt shall be attached to the submits limited by time limits. If a conclusion is made that the filing has been submitted on time, the sign “prompt” shall be placed on it. Upon a stated appeal, the judge shall require an order to be prepared for its delivery to the opposite party for reply, and in cases where the issue is about an appeal
54 upon which a reply is not required, an order shall be prepared for delivery of the case to the second instance court, or a note for delivery of the case to the non-trial council of the same court. The order or the note shall be submitted to the judge for evaluation and signature. If the filing has not been filed on time, the sign “not prompt” shall be placed and it will be delivered together with the document to the President of the Council or the individual judge to act upon. In such cases the relevant stamps shall be used compulsory.
Article 190
The movement of cases in the intake office (transcription, comparison, delivery) shall not be noted in the relevant registry book, in situations where the cases are returned in course of the day. If the case is submitted temporarily to another body, it shall be noted with a pencil in the column for notes of the registry book when and whom the case has been delivered to. The delivered case shall also be simultaneously entered in the book of delivered documents that need to be returned.
Article 191
The returned delivery receipts and receipt for return, upon the performed delivery shall be classified according to the date of time limits and hearings, kept separately in a special case for that purpose and consolidated prior the term or hearing for the relevant case. Invitations and other writs that have not been delivered shall be dealt with immediately upon their receipt, regardless of the set time limits for pre-registering and registering, in a manner prescribed by the Court Book of Rules. The delivery receipts and receipts for return , reports and other writs having permanent value shall be attached, pasted and kept together with the registry book or the decision they refer to. Based on judges’ decision, the delivery receipts and receipts for return , reports and other writs having no value for the further proceedings shall be taken out of the file and destroyed.
Article 192
The intake office shall independently perform the administrative operations regarding the handling with cases and collection of necessary data, reports and notifications of administrative and technical character from other bodies.
Article 193
In addition to the others, the following activities shall be independently performed in the intake office:
55 1. Provision of oral and written notifications on the basis of data from the registry and the case, as well as issuance of certificates about facts for which the court keeps official records; 2. Receipt with minutes or with official notes, short announcements and statements by parties and other interested persons for changes of addresses, residence, date of receipt of the court decision, in case the delivery receipts and receipts for return are not returned or the date of the performed delivery is not indicated in them; 3. Review of official gazettes for check up if announcements regarding certain cases have been published, which is noted in the relevant case; 4. Interventions in cases where it has not acted upon the submitted requests and where a decision by the judge is not needed for such intervention; 5. Removal of mistakes in submits within the scope of authorization of the employee; 6. Undertaking relevant measures for prompt and proper collection of monetary fines and procedural costs upon court’s order; 7. Undertaking relevant measures for collection of duties, when such payment is compulsory; 8. Collection of duties and costs for the procedure where they have been paid from the Budget; 9. Collection of necessary data for deletion or revocation of a conditional sentence.
Article 194
Upon the legal remedies stated against first instance decisions, the court shall submit the case to a higher relevant court with a separate report attached to it (Form no.37-38). The court shall, at the same time, inform the party that the legal remedy stated upon the decision from paragraph 1 of this Article, together with the case was submitted to a higher relevant court (Form no.39). The case, upon which a legal remedy is stated against the second instance decision, shall be submitted by the first instance court through the second instance court to the third instance court with an attached report (Form no.40). If several legal remedies have been filed against the same decision or one legal remedy against several court decisions, the case shall be submitted with a unique report where the legal remedies and relevant decision will be indicated.
Article 195
The following shall be indicated in the attached report: the ordinal number and number of sheets of paper of the appealed decision, legal matter, date when the decision has been submitted to the party filing the appeal, the party who filed the legal remedy and date of its filing, the working number and number of sheets of paper of the legal remedy, whether the legal remedy was prompt and whether a reply to the legal remedy was submitted.
56 If the legal remedy is confronting a decision of the second instance court, the first instance court shall file a transcription of its own decision, and the same shall be done by the second instance court, as well.
Article 196
In case the content of the legal remedy points out that certain revisions need to be done, in particular regarding the service, the revisions shall be conducted by the first instance court, prior delivering the case to the relevant court. The first instance court shall describe in the attached report the results from the revisions it has conducted upon the receipt of the legal remedy or the reply.
Article 197
In addition to the case, the higher instance court shall also be delivered the documents kept in the court, in case a verified transcription thereof is not attached to the case. In case where the verified transcriptions are attached to the case, compendiums shall be submitted to the higher instance court only upon its request. If objects from the revision or other evidences, have been attached to the documents, and if they cannot be easily attached to the documents for the higher instance court, this shall be noted in the attached report, and the object will be submitted if the higher instance court requests that.
Article 198
When received by the higher instance court, a new case shall be created containing the designation of that court. The attached report of the first instance court shall be entered first into the inventory of documents. The designation of the higher instance court shall be placed on the case cover of the received case, below the designation of the first instance court, without crossing the designation of the first instance court.
Article 199
The higher instance court shall return the case to the first instance court with sufficient number of copies of its decision for the parties and the first instance court. It shall be acted in the same manner when the higher instance court returns the case to the second instance court due to the legal remedy stated against its decision. The following shall remain in the case of the higher instance court: a copy of the appealed decision, minutes from the main inquiry before the higher instance court, compendium of the decision with the records for advising and voting and other documents referring only to the procedure before the higher instance court.
57 Article 200
Upon the receipt of the case in the second instance court, the responsible employee of the intake office or the intake office department shall record it in the relevant registry and deliver the decisions to the parties. In case the first instance decision is completely or partially revoked, the case shall preserve the old number by placing a Roman numeral after the number indicating how many times the decision has been revoked (e.g.: K.no.103/06 – I, or if it has been revoked for the second time K.no.104/06 – II). In such a case, the judge shall be obligated within the time limit stipulated by law, to give an order for inquiry or set a date for hearing, ordering at the same time together with the summons for the main inquiry or the hearing the transcribed second instance decision to be delivered to the parties. If the main inquiry or hearing may not be held within this time limit due to justified reasons, the decision of the higher instance court shall be delivered to the parties without any delay.
Chapter Eleven
ARCHIVING, KEEPING AND ISSUING OF CASES
1. Archiving of Cases
Article 201
Documents necessary for the court’s decision upon a case, which is still in procedure, shall be kept in the case until the judge decides otherwise. Wills and other more important documents shall be kept in a specified manner and secured in metal closets or cases.
Article 202
The cases with legally valid decision shall be archived and kept as resolved upon performing the previously determined actions. The archive shall be a constituent part of the intake office and situated in separate premises. Archiving of cases shall be performed on the basis of a written order of the president of the court, president of the council or the individual judge. Cases kept in the archive shall be protected from humidity and fire and secured from damaging, destruction and robbery.
Article 203
Cases, prior to being archived, shall be checked if the writs are chronologically arranged, whether the writs that need to be separated and delivered to the parties or some other body are inside, whether the case is finally resolved.
58 Cases, subject to payment of court fees, prior to archiving, shall be checked by the head of the intake office or the authorized employee if there are any official notes confirming whether the court fee has been paid, whether a request for payment was delivered to the relevant body in charge of finances or whether a resolution for forced payment of court fees through a gyro-account was adopted and whether and when the statistical forms were filled in and separated. An imprint of the stamp shall be affixed on the case cover, confirming that the charges have been paid and a report delivered or a decision adopted. The criminal cases resolved with legally valid judgment shall be archived after the president of the court, president of the council or the individual judge determines that an order for execution of criminal sanction was issued and received; that upon the adopted decision for expenses of the criminal procedures, which are paid from the budget assets, as well as, the monetary fines, are paid and entered in the control book for monetary fines and criminal procedure expenses; that all notifications are delivered to the relevant bodies, organizations and communities; that the deposits and cases – corpora delicti are resolved; delivery receipts and receipts for return are kept; bodies are informed about the date when the decision becomes legally valid by way of which the criminal procedures is ended against the defendant who was in detention and removed from work and that all other necessary activities have been performed. If the case cover of more extensive cases are damaged, a new envelope shall be used prior the archiving.
Article 204
Cases of historical and scientific importance, as well as other cases that are considered as necessary, shall be kept in a separate place. A note indicating the place determined for their keeping shall be put in the archive. Registry books, directories, and other supporting books from previous years shall also be kept in the archive, if not used in the daily work.
Article 205
Resolved cases shall be arranged according to the type of cases (criminal, trial, probate, and other) and according to the ordinal numbers on the indications of the writs of separate registry books and in separate files. An abbreviated indication the year of cases and their ordinal number (e.g.: P.no. 20/06) shall be placed on the cover page of the file. Indications on the cover page of the file shall be placed in separate partitions for better orientation. An appointed employee from the intake office shall handle the archived cases. A separate list shall be kept for cases issued from the archive, containing the time when the case needs to be returned in the archive (Form no.41). When the case is taken from the archive, the issuance shall be made on the basis of a special written request by the president of the council or the individual judge. Such written request shall be put on the place of the issued case, and upon its returning to the archive, it shall be destroyed. (Form no.42).
59 Archived cases may be issued to another body only upon written approval obtained from the president of the court. In that case, the written request, together with the approval by the president of the court shall be put on the place where the cases are filed. The appointed employee, at the end of each month, shall check whether the cases are returned within the set time period and undertake the necessary measures for their returning.
2. Keeping and Issuing of Cases
Article 206
Keeping and issuing of cases, registry books, directories and other supporting books that were archived, shall be carried out in a manner determined with this Book of Rules and with the appropriate laws and sub regulations.
Article 207
The following documents shall be permanently kept in the court and may not be separated for the purpose of submitting them to the competent archive: 1. cases related to construction works, containing blueprints and agreements referring to court buildings; 2. documents of entities that are recorded in the court registry books; 3. deeds of ownership and intabulation books containing collection of titles, blueprints and schemes with all the titles referring to that, material for establishment, corrections in public books and publication of deeds of ownership and intabulation books, relevant registry books and supporting books, as well as old deeds of ownership and intabulation books after the performed renewal; 4. wills and other separately kept titles, together with the inventory of documents and relevant directories; 5. criminal cases – verdicts for criminal acts where the verdict is sentence to life imprisonment or sentence to 20 years imprisonment; 6. trial cases – verdicts and agreements referring to statutory disputes, as well as when the trial procedure was stopped, and did not continue within one year after that ; 7. probate cases – death certificates, records for division of heritage, as well as decision for inheritance; 8. cases for pronouncing missing persons as dead persons and for proving of death, taking away working capability and adoption of children; 9. collections of circulars and instructions; 10. documentation for working relations and records of employees in the court and lists of their salaries; 11. registry books for criminal, trial, probate and bankruptcy cases and relevant directories; Cases under items 2, 3, 5, 9 and 11 shall be delivered to the relevant archive upon the expiration of the set term.
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Article 208
Cases that are not kept permanently shall be taken out of the archive upon the expiration of the following terms: 1. 20 (twenty) years for criminal cases, for which a sentence above 3 years imprisonment was pronounced, and if 10 (ten) years have passed from the date when the decision becomes legally valid for other criminal cases; 2. 30 (thirty) years from the date when decision becomes legally valid for trial cases referring to the liens on immovable property; 3. 30 (thirty) years from the date when the decision becomes legally valid for non- trial cases referring to immovable property, probate and title-deeds proceedings; 4. 5 (five) years from the date of realized, interrupted or terminated enforcement of cases from the field of enforcement procedures; 5. 10 (ten) years for cases of court administration; 6. 5 (five) years from the date of delivery of a second instance decision for all second instance cases; 7. 10 (ten) years from the date of ending of the procedure for cases from the field of administrative-court procedures; 8. 10 (ten) years from the date of ending of the procedure upon all other cases; 9. 5 (five) years from the day of the legal validity of the decision in misdemeanor procedure; 10. 3 (three) years for criminal cases upon a private complaint for which the procedure was interrupted, criminal cases upon which a monetary fine was pronounced, a conditional sentence or court admonition, payment orders, trial and non-trial cases upon which the procedure is finished by withdrawal of the complaint or due to other formal reasons.
Article 209
Registry books and directories, except the ones stated in Article 207 of the Court Book of Rules, shall be kept at all times, until the cases that are registered in them are kept. Registry books for verifications and financial books with documents for evidence shall be kept for 10 (ten) years from the last annual closure.
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SECTION THREE
REGISTRY BOOKS AND SUPPORTING BOOKS
Chapter Twelve
PROVISIONS FOR KEEPING REGISTRY BOOKS AND SUPPORTING BOOKS
1. General Provisions
Article 210
Registry books and supporting books shall be kept by the intake office. Registry books shall be kept separately, according to the type of cases. Courts with larger scope of work, such as the courts with competence set forth in Article 31 of the Law on Courts, may keep separate registry books and supporting books for cases of the same type (e.g.: divorcing disputes, disturbance in possession, ownership of real estate, debt). In such cases, these registry books shall have the title of the sign of the basic registry and the relevant sub-number according to the order they have been created. Registry books may be divided into two or more book marked with Roman numerals. Registry books shall be kept in such a manner so that a person may, at any time, determine where and in which phase the procedure for a certain case is. Printed instructions and clarification for keeping the books shall be placed on the internal side of the cover page of the registry book and the working books. Registry books and supporting books shall be kept locked after the working hours.
2. Creation and Designation of Registry books and Supporting Books
Article 211
Registry books and supporting books shall be created for the internal operation of courts. Instead of registry books prescribed by the Court Book of Rules, courts may keep card files for all or only for certain types of cases, which will contain the same entries as the relevant registry book. The court shall maintain the registry books and the supporting books with the use of computer technology.
62 Article 212
Registry books shall consist of sufficient number of sheets of paper of prescribed forms, bound in a book with hard covers marked with a Roman numeral. The sign and the year, which the registry refers to, shall be placed on the cover page (e.g. K-2006, P- 2006). Court with a smaller scope of operation, such as courts which jurisdiction as set forth in Article 30 of the Law on Courts, may use one book of the registry for several years. In the middle of the first page, where the new year begins, a sign for the relevant year shall be placed. Registry books and other supporting books shall be created in the same manner.
3. Keeping of Registry books and Supporting Books
Article 213
The entry of writs in registry books and supporting books shall be performed in chronological order. Each case in the registry, until the end of the procedure shall be kept under the same number, except in cases of designation of closed and consolidated cases. In case the procedure is initiated by several parties or against several parties, the case shall be entered in the registry book under the same ordinal number, and small letters in alphabetical order shall be placed below the names of the plaintiffs (a, b, v) and Arabic numerals below the names of the defendants (1, 2, 3).
Article 214
The writ, against which a procedure is initiated or some other court action is requested, shall be registered in the relevant registry and supporting book. Documents referring to the already registered cases, but which need to be registered in the registry book due to their importance (appeal, objection), shall be entered in the relevant columns of the registry under the ordinal number of the case they refer to. In case there is not enough space in the registry for further entries due to the previous entries, the entry shall be made in the first free line after the last ordinal number in the registry. For the purpose of connecting the continued entry, bellow the ordinal number of the case which entry continues, the ordinal number of the case after which the continued entry comes shall be written in red pencil or red ink. The space where the continued entry is placed shall have the ordinal number of the case that it refers to. Other documents shall be enclosed in the relevant case without being previously entered in the registry. The entry in registry books and supporting books shall be made with ink, and those which are maintained with computers, shall be entered with Macedonian support. Interim notes (movement of the case) shall be written with regular pencil and deleted
63 after they become useless. Notes in red pencil shall be written only for situations anticipated by the Court Book of Rules.
Article 215
Separate documents may not be deleted nor in any other way destroyed (paste, scratch). If any case is wrongly entered, it shall be crossed out with slanting line in red pencil from the lower left corner to the right upper corner, and the indication “wrong entry” shall be placed in the column for notes. Case that is entered after the wrongly entered case shall not get the ordinal number of the wrongly entered case, but the subsequent number. The cancelled ordinal numbers shall be deducted from the last ordinal number when closing the registry at the end of the year. Other wrong entries in registry books and supporting books shall be corrected by entering the correct text, and drawing a thin horizontal red line over the wrong text, so that the crossed text remain legible.
4. Designation of Disposed Cases
Article 216
When the case is disposed, the sign for resolved cases shall be placed ahead of the ordinal number (e.g.: P.no.45/07). The case shall be designated as disposed when the decision is sent regardless if it is final. The designation for a disposed case shall be placed even before sending the decision, in case of termination of the trial procedure, if the procedure has not resumed upon the expiration of one year after the termination. The designation for a disposed case shall be placed in registry books for enforcement of cases: for enforcement of monetary claims where the court has collected the monetary claim; for sale of movable property or real estate or some other kind of enforcement (enforcement of non-monetary claims); where the enforcement procedure upon such case has ended so that the debtor, claiming the enforcement is settled from the sale or where the enforcement was not successful, or where the procedure has been terminated due to some other reasons, the monetary fine in the criminal and misdemeanor procedures shall be considered as paid when the public attorney shall inform the court that the fine was paid. The case referring to several parties (several defendants plaintiffs or accused) shall be designated as disposed when the procedure is ended and the decision sent to all parties. In situations where the case is disposed only with respect to some of the parties, the designation for disposed cases shall be placed only next to the letter or number referring to those parties. A partial resolution of a case shall be designated by drawing a red horizontal line below the ordinal number of the registry.
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Article 217
In situations where all cases entered on one page of the registry or supporting books are disposed, the following rectangular sign shall be placed in the lower left corner of the page
The same sign shall be used for designation of the ordinal number of the case when archiving it. The designation for disposed cases and the rectangular sign shall always be written with a red pencil or a stamp.
5. Joining and Dividing Cases in the Registry
Article 218
When joining several cases for the purpose of initiating a joint procedure, information concerning with which other case the case was joined, shall be entered in the column for notes of the registry (e.g.: joined with K no…). A note (e.g. consolidated K.no.96/07) shall be placed below the ordinal number of joined cases in the column for notes. In the course of joining the cases, the latter shall be added to the older case and shall be kept under the designation and number of that case.
Article 219
Provisions for joining the cases shall not apply to situations where a certain case is enclosed in the other for the purpose of making an insight in the case. The date of enclosure shall be written with a regular pencil in the column for notes of the enclosed case (e.g.: K.no.18/06 – 25.II.2006). Such a note shall also be written in the column for notes of the registry under the ordinal number of the case to which the other case is enclosed.
Article 220
In situations where the court determines the procedure upon a certain case to be separately discussed and decided upon, the division of the case shall be entered in the registry by entering the separate writs of the case as a new case. Notes written in ink “divided from …” shall be placed in column for notes of the new case, while in the same column for the old case “division in the document …”, including the date of the division. The same notes shall be written in the inventory of documents, as well. Notes referring to the divided part of the writs shall also be entered in the relevant column of the new ordinal number of the divided case.
65 6. Closing of Registry Books and Supporting Books
Article 221
Registry books shall be closed at the end of the year. Closing shall be made by writing a statement after the last entered number containing the following data: date, month, and year of the closing, ordinal number of the last entry, number of cancelled entries, number of disposed case and number of cases which remained open at the end of the year. This statement shall be signed by the authorized employee and the President of the Court. Supporting books shall, as a rule, not be closed.
Article 222
Cases that remained open at the end of the year shall be transferred to the following year for the purposes of keeping records, by entering the numbers of these cases on the first page of the registry. All entries referring to these cases shall be made in the former registry. If the case is disposed in the course of the year, a sign for disposed cases shall be placed next to the ordinal number in the former registry, while on the other side of the new registry, the relevant ordinal number shall be crossed out with a red pencil.
Article 223
A case, which is entered in the registry as disposed, shall preserve the same number as in the former entry, in the procedure that will continue upon the revocation of the decision (completely or partially) or upon the termination and reopening of the procedure. In such a case, the further procedure regarding the case shall be designated in the column for notes (e.g.: P.no.18/06 if put in procedure for the first time or P.no.18/06 – I for reopening or P.no.18/06 – II for the subsequent disposing).
Article 224
The case entered in the registry shall immediately be entered in the relevant directory. The designation of the case written in the directory shall be placed on the ordinal number of the registry.
7. Occasional Reviews of Registry books and Supporting Books
Article 225
The court secretary, responsible employee of the intake office, shall make a review of all entries made in the registry books, directories and supporting book, always if needed and as obligation at the end of each month. In the course of this activity, s/he
66 shall compare the entry with the documents and check if the entries are correct and complete. For the performed review and determined situation s/he shall inform the President of the Court and the President of the Court Department in writing. The president of the court department shall review the registry books, directories and supporting books that are kept in the department, occasionally and at least once in three months. The president of the court shall, when needed, and at least twice a year, review the registry books, directories and supporting books. In the course of the review, the determined mistakes and omissions shall be removed and separate clarifications and instructions given. The review shall be confirmed with a signature and date, written in the last reviewed entry. In addition to the oral advice, the President of the Court Department and the President of the Court, when needed, may also provide written clarifications and instructions regarding the determined mistakes and omissions. The President of the Court Department shall inform the President of the Court in written about the actions undertaken by him/her.
8. Registry books
Article 226
The basic courts shall keep the following registry books: For criminal and misdemeanor : - Registry for investigations “KI” form no.43 - Registry for certain investigation activities “OID” form no.44 - Registry for various investigation activities and various criminal cases “KRI and KR” form no.45 - Registry for custodies “KSP” form no.46 - Registry for criminal council in a preliminary procedure outside of the main hearing “KS” form no.47 - Registry for criminal cases “K” form no.48 - Registry for criminal cases against juveniles “KM” form no.49 - Registry for amnesty cases “KP” and for extraordinary reduction of sentence “KUK” form no.50 - Registry for seized objects (corpora delicti) “KPD” form no.51 - Registry for seized money, securities and other items of value “KPD I” form no.52 - Registry for persons summoned to serve their imprisonment sentence (adults) “KUIKP” form no.53 - Registry for enforcement of juvenile imprisonment and educational measures “KUIKM” form no.54 - Order for sending a person to serve the sentence to imprisonment and suspension of sentence “NUI PK” form no.55 - Payment order for a misdemeanor form no.32 - Registry for reopening of a procedure “K – POV” form no.56
67 - Registry for misdemeanor cases “PRK”, “PRK-J”, “PRK-S”, “PRK-O” form no.57 - Registry for releases on parole “UO” form no.58 - Registry for guaranties “UG” form no.59 - Registry for penalty records “UKE” form no.60 - Registry for recording misdemeanor sanctions “UEPS” form no.61 - Registry for authorized surveillance of communications “UOSK” form no.62 - Registry for enforcement of misdemeanor sanctions “IPRK” form no.63 - Registry for sanctioned legal entities and responsible staff “KZ-E” form no.64 - Registry for enforcement of sanctions “UIS” form no.92 - Registry for tax evasion and property gains “UDZIK” form no.158 - Registry for bans to operate a motor vehicle “UZUMB” form no.159 - Registry for mandatory healthcare treatment “UZL” form no.160 - Registry for bans from performing profession, activity or duty and eviction of a foreign national form no.161 - Registry for prison sentences and security measures “UZKMB” form no.162
For civil cases: - Registry for litigation cases “P” form no.65 - Registry for small value disputes “MALVP” form no.66 - Registry for payment orders “PL” form no.67 - Registry for various civil cases “R” form no.68 - Registry for objections against enforcement irregularities “PPNI” form no.69 - Registry for hereditary cases “O” form no.70 - Registry for non-trial procedure “VPP” form no.71 - Registry for legal aid” “POM” form no.72 - Registry for cases for taking away the working capability and treatment and keeping of mentally ill persons in health institutions “ODS” form no.73 - Registry for verification of contracts “ZAV” form no.74 - Registry for verification of documents for use abroad “ZAV-S” form no.13 - Registry for verification of documents in compliance with the Convention for repeal of the need for legalization of foreign public documents (Apostil) “ZAV – H” form no.14 - Registry of requests of domestic and foreign courts for delivery of documents abroad and provision of other legal assistance “ZAM – S” form no.15 - Registry for recognition of foreign court decisions “PSO” form no.75 - Registry of requests for impositions of fines “IPK” form no.76 - Registry for commercial disputes “TS” form no.77 - Registry for commercial disputes of small value “MALV-TS” form no.78 - Registry for employment relations related disputes “RO” form no.79 - Registry for bankruptcy, liquidation and settlement “ST” form no.80
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For court administration: - Registry for court administration “SU” form no.81 - Confidential and strictly restricted registry of the court administration “SU –DOV” and “SUST – R – DOV” form no.81 - Registry for written submits and complaints ”UPP” form no.82 - Registry for protection from illegal actions “ZND” form no.83 - Registry for the unique registry of political parties “ERPP” form no.84
Article 227 The administrative court shall maintain the following registry books
- Registry for administrative disputes “U” form no.85 - Registry for various administrative cases “URP” form no.86 - Registry for requesting protection of basic rights and liberties “USPI” form no.87 - Registry for court administration “SU” form no.81 - Confidential and strictly confidential registry for court administration “SU DOV” and “STR DOV” form no.81 - Registry for submits and complaints “UPP” form no.82 - Registry for requesting enforcement of judgments of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia form no.88
Article 228
Appellate courts shall keep the following registry books: - Registry for second instance criminal cases “KZ” form no.89 - Registry for second instance cases in procedure against juveniles “KZM” form no.90 - Registry for second instance criminal council “KSZ” form no.91 - Registry for various criminal cases “KR” form no.45 - Registry for second instance misdemeanor cases “PRKZ” form no.93 - Registry for second instance civil cases “GZ” form no.94 - Registry for second instance cases for commercial disputes “TSZ” form no.95 - Registry for various civil cases “R” form no.68 - Registry for the court administration “SU” form no.81 - Confidential and strictly confidential registry for the court administration “SU DOV” and STR DOV” form no.81 - Registry for written submits and complaints “UPP” form no.82 - Registry for second instance cases in labor disputes “ROZ” form no.96 - Registry for the right to a trail within reasonable time “PSRR” form no.97
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Article 229
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia shall keep the following registry books: - Registry for requesting protection of legality upon criminal cases “KZZ” form no.98 - Registry for requesting extraordinary reduction of the punishment “VUK” form no.99 - Registry for various criminal cases “KR” form no.45 - Registry for civil cases upon revision “REV” form no.100 - Registry for various civil cases “R” form no.68 - Registry for requesting protection of legality in an administrative dispute “UZZ” form no.101 - Registry for court administration “SU” form no.81 - Confidential and strictly confidential registry for the court administration “SU DOV” and STR DOV” form no.81 - Registry for written submits and complaints “UPP” form no.82 - Registry for extraordinary reexamination of a legally effective judgment “BKZ”” form no.103 - Registry for third instance criminal cases “VKZ” form no.103 - Registry for the right to a trail within reasonable time “PSRR” form no.97 - Registry for requesting surveillance of communication “SK” form no.104 - Registry for second instance commercial cases “UZ” form no.105
9. Directories and Other Ancillary Books
Article 230
Basic and appellate courts shall keep the following directories and Ancillary books: - Evidence – Calendar for summoning the jurors form no.5 - A book with a list for delivered cases that need to be returned form no.10 - Diary for leaves for official purposes form no.11 - Internal delivery book about the flow of cases in the court form no.28 - Working diary of judges form no.29 - Delivery book for mail form no.33 - Delivery book for place form no.34 - Evidence for obligations of judges and presidents of judicial panels form no.27 - Book of obligations of court employees for received packages – documents for delivery form no.36 - Control book for postage form no.36 - List of issued cases by the archive form no.41 - Directory for registries “K”, “KI”, “KM”, “KZ”, “KZM”, “PRK” and “PRKZ” form no.106
70 - Directory for registries “P”, “PL”, “GZ”, “PPI”, “TS”, “RO”, RZ” And “TSZ” form no.107 - Directory for the registry “I” form no.108 - Directory for registries “R”, “ZAM”, “ODS” form no.109 - Directory for the registry “O” form no.110 - Directory for the registry “SU” form no.111 - Book for conditional sentences form no.112 - Control book for paid monetary fines for costs for criminal procedures and confiscation of property, property gains and confiscation of objects form no.113 - Control book for costs of procedures where the party has been acquitted from the allegations form no.114 - List of issued certificated for transportation on credit form no.115 - Diary of the investigative judge and juvenile judge “DIS” form no.116 - List of enforcements entrusted to an enforcement authority form no.117 - List of inventory (card) form no.118 - List of documents “PI” form no.119 - Directory for inventory of documents “IPI” form no.120 - Control book for persons in detention in the preliminary procedure form no.121 - Control book for persons brought before an investigative judge form no.122 - Control book for persons in detention upon raised charges form no.123 - Records of issued certificates to employees absent from work due to court summons form no.20 - Book for supervision of correctional facilities and supervision over the enforcement of the measure of imprisonment form no.124 - Book of persons summoned to serve a sentence of imprisonment form no.125 - Directory of persons summoned to serve a sentence of imprisonment form no.126 - Records for supervision on the enforcement of the imprisonment sentence form no.127 - Control book for enforcement of educative measures form no.128 - Records of issued permissions to undertake enforcement actions in the apartment of the debtor “IDS” form no.163 - Requests for enforced collection form no.164
The Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia and the Administrative Court shall keep directories and other ancillary books that are kept by the appellate courts. The Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia shall also keep the following directories: Directory for administrative cases “UZ” and “UZZ”, and the Administrative Court shall also keep the following directories: “U”, “UI”, “URP”, “USPI” (form no.129). The basic courts shall keep a book of titles (Form no.131) and Intabulation Book (form no.132). The Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia and the Administrative Court shall also keep other ancillary books prescribed with this book of rules, and if this is required by the content of their tasks and assignments, they shall also keep new registries in accordance with other regulations. The offices of the presidents of the courts shall have an inventory of all registries, directories and ancillary books as well as an inventory of those used by the court.
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SECTION FOUR
SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF ACTIONS
Chapter Thirteen
ACTING UPON CRIMINAL CASES
1. Urgency of the procedure
Article 231
Courts shall act without delay in criminal cases upon which a procedure was initiated with reference to a criminal act which is prosecuted ex officio. Actions that cannot be postponed, in instances determined by law shall be dealt with even after the end of the working hours and during the non-working days of the court, on Sundays and state holidays, and if such activities were starter during the day, they shall continue during the night, as well. The urgency of the procedure shall be preserved in cases for which a detention measure had been imposed, for cases referring to juveniles and for compliance with the terms for duration, continuation and termination of the detention, hearing of detained or convicted persons, cases upon which a request for a pardon was filed or request for extraordinary reduction of the sentence and for other cases, which according to their nature are considered as urgent.
2. Assistance to Investigative Judges and Insight into the Work upon Previous Procedure
Article 232
The court shall provide for all the necessary conditions for effective operation of the investigative department and for harmonization of the work and cooperation with bodies that participate in the preliminary procedure.
Article 233
In cases where the investigative judge is not able to undertake all the necessary actions promptly, due to the number of defendants or persons in detention, extensiveness and complexity of the case and quantitative or urgency of actions that need to be done or due to his/her engagement in another case, he/she shall inform the president of the court, who shall appoint one or more judges to undertake certain investigative activities.
72
3. Notification of Procedures and Making of Decisions
Article 234
For the detention, as well as for any final judgment by which a person having an employment relation is convicted, the court shall, within a certain period notify the authority where the person is employed, while in respect to officers of the reserve composition of the army, the court shall notify the competent military headquarters and competent regional defense unit. The court shall act in the manner stipulated in paragraph 1 of this Article, even in cases where the criminal procedure is suspended by a final decision, or when the persons have been acquitted of the allegations or the charged have been dismissed, except in the case when the court has no competence over the case. In the events stipulated in paragraph 1 and 2 of this article, if dealing with an attorney or a lawyer in training, public notary. Enforcement agent or a mediator, the court shall inform the appropriate chamber and the Ministry of Justice
Article 235
When initiating a criminal or a misdemeanor procedure against officers serving in embassies, consulates or foreign missions or persons who come from abroad as foreign nationals, the court shall inform the Ministry of Internal Affairs through the Ministry of Justice.
Article 236
The court shall notify the relevant authority for social insurance of any final judgment, which, according to the regulations for social insurance of the family of the convicted insured person, provides for partial or complete realization of rights for social insurance. The Court shall, in the same manner, notify the competent authority for payment, where, pursuant to the regulations for military handicapped persons, the family of the convicted war handicapped person or a handicapped person during peace times shall be entitled to partial or complete realization of his/her rights as an handicapped person.
Article 237
For every final measure pronouncing prohibition to perform a certain professional activity or duty, prohibition to operate a motor vehicle, eviction of a foreigner from the country, the court shall notify the authority about the decision of significance in respect to the approval for performing a certain professional activity or duty.
73 For initiation of criminal procedures and for every convicting judgment against a juror, the court shall notify the competent president of the court and president of the State Judicial Council of the Republic of Macedonia.
4. Detention
Article 238
The registry, where a case upon which a detention or house arrest has been pronounced against a certain persons, is recorded, the note “detention” or “house arrest” shall be written in red pencil below the name and surname of the person, which shall be crossed out when that person is released.
Article 239
The person against whom a measure of detention or house arrest has been imposed shall be recorded in the control book of persons detained in a preliminary procedure (form no.121) or in the control book for persons in detention or house arrest after charges have been raised (form no.123).
Article 240
Basic and appellate courts shall keep a book for inspection of correctional facilities in which, the president of the court or the judge that he/she shall appoint, shall note his/her conclusions. Data entered in the book stipulated in paragraph 1 of this article shall be presented to the investigative judge, the administrator of the correctional facility and the Directorate for enforcement of sanctions at the Ministry of Justice. If specific deficiencies and omissions have been determined, the president of the court shall undertake appropriate measures to remove them.
Article 241
In case of unjustified detention or if the legal terms regarding the continuation of detention have been exceeded, the judge shall immediately inform the president of the court in written about the reasons for the unjustified detention or exceeding.
Article 242
If it is obvious that the adopted decision for continuation of detention may not reach the correctional facility before the expiration of the determined deadline, the authorized person of the correctional facility shall be informed about the continuation of the detention in an appropriate manner by simultaneous delivery of the decision and order for holding the defendant in detention.
74 Article 243
If the panel or second instance criminal panel makes a decision outside the main hearing, it shall, it shall primarily decide on the detention and undertake the relevant measures for immediate enforcement of the decision.
Article 244
Second instance courts shall keep records for second instance cases, resulting as a result of which a certain person is in detention. The president of the panel or the responsible officer shall undertake measures, for the most complex cases prior the expiration of the term of three months from the date when the cased had been received, for the second instance decision to be submitted to the first instance court.
5. Records and Payment of Monetary Fines, Costs of Criminal Procedures and Seizure of Property and Property Gain and Confiscation of objects
Article 245
The court, in accordance with the Law on Enforcement of Sanctions shall take care of the enforcement of a court decision regarding the payment of monetary fine, costs of a criminal procedure and seizure of property and property gains and confiscation of objects. Final decisions for pronounced monetary fines and costs of a criminal procedure shall be entered in the control book for monetary fines, lump sums and costs of a criminal procedure (form no.113). If the convicted person fails to pay the monetary fine as well as the costs of the criminal procedure within the specified deadline, the judge for enforcement of sanctions shall send to the convicted persona warning to pay the monetary fine and the costs of the criminal procedure together with a filled in payment order stipulating the appropriate amount which shall contain an indication of the number of the case and the court that enacted it. Each month, the president of the court shall review the books for paid monetary fines, costs of the procedure and seizure of property and property gains and seized objects Monetary fines pronounced for disturbance of the peace, non-appearance of witnesses and expert witnesses before the court, refusal to be a witness or provide an expertise, as well as for costs of the procedure made due to their unjustified absence and delay at the main hearing, whose payment was ordered by the court, shall be entered in the control book.
75 6. Records of the revenues from monetary fines, costs of the procedure and confiscation of property and property gains
Article 246 The recording of the amounts of collected fines, costs of procedure as well as confiscated property and property gains shall be performed using the appropriate diary (Form no.149). All payments shall be made in favor of the special revenue accounts in the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia, determined by law or another regulation. The same procedure shall apply in case of collection of monetary fines imposed for disrupting the order of the procedure. The amounts intended to cover the costs incurred during the procedure which had previously been paid from the budgetary funds of the court, shall be paid immediately after the collection of the amount against the calculated funds which had been previously paid and shall not be recorded in the records stipulated in paragraph 1 of this article.
Article 247 After the debiting in the diary for revenues and determination of the time period in which the payment should be made, under the decision of the judge in the case where the debiting is ordered, in the cover of the case file an indication shall be placed of the number of the diary where the debiting is recorded (stamp for recording the imposed monetary fines, the costs of procedure and confiscated property and property gain). In addition, the number of the diary where the debiting is performed shall be entered in the appropriate column of the criminal registry.
Article 248 Immediately upon entering the necessary data in the diary, the debtor shall be called to pay the monetary fine, costs of the procedure, or the seized property and property gain within the time period determined in the decision. A payment order shall be attached to the invitation of the debtor stipulated in paragraph 1 of this article.
Article 249 The court shall be notified for each payment by filling in a form “Notification for paid monetary fine, costs of the procedure and seized property and property gains” (form no.151).
Article 250 The paid amounts on the basis of monetary fines, costs of the procedure and seized property and property gains shall be maintained on a separate account of the court in an authorized bank, or shall be paid on the account for budget revenues of the Budget of the Republic of Macedonia.
76 Article 251 The authorized employee who keeps the diary of monetary fines, costs of the procedure and seized property and property gains shall be obligated to check the payment and undertake actions, for prompt collection of the claims. At the end of each month, the responsible employee shall check all of the pending items and by delivering “notification for expiration of the term for payment” inform the relevant judge that the term for payment has expired. Upon this notification, a procedure for enforced collection of the amount owed shall be initiated (form no.150). If the court has requested the enforcement of a monetary fine, cost of the procedure and seized property and property gains from another court, the enforcing court shall notify the court that requested the debt collection about the initiated procedure for enforced collection by indicating the number of its case.
Article 252 If more than three months have passed from the delivery of the notification, the authorized officer in charge of the diary for monetary fines, costs of the procedure and seized property and property gains shall request form the enforcing court notification about the eventual impediments due to which the enforcement was not made within the set term period (form no.152). At the same time the president of the court shall be informed about the determined situation.
Article 253 When the procedure for enforcement of a monetary fine, costs of the procedure and seizure of property and property gains has no effects, the entire case shall be submitted to the judge for making a relevant decision. Upon the final decision for replacement of the monetary fine with an imprisonment sentence the decision to release a party from the obligation to compensate the costs of the procedure, when the enforcement of the monetary fine or payment of costs of the procedure and seizure of property and property gains has reached the statute of limitations, it shall be written off from the diary for monetary fines with a red annulment and the number and date of the decision when the annulment was made shall be recorded. If the monetary fine, costs for the procedure and seized property and property gains are paid after the decision stipulated in paragraph 2 of this Article, a repeated debiting shall be administered in relevant diary and other business books.
7. Seizure and Keeping of Objects
Article 254
Objects used or intended for perpetrating a criminal act, or objects that were produced by perpetrating the criminal act or received as a reward for the criminal act, which will serve as evidence in the criminal procedure or were found with the defendant , but it is not known to whom they belong (suspicious objects), as well as guaranties, shall be entered in the book of seized objects (“Kpd” – form no.51).
77 Money, securities and items of value, as well as guaranties of these types of values shall be recorded in the books of seized objects and kept in a safe box, and if necessary will be used as evidence during the hearing. Otherwise they shall be submitted for keeping in the appropriate bank, which provides depositary services to the court. Other objects shall be recorded in book of seized objects and submitted for keeping to the authorized officer in the intake office. Receiving, keeping, handling and annulment (liquidation) of objects recorded in the books for seized objects shall be performed according to the provisions of Section Five of the Court Book of Rules. Monetary books and other documents serving as evidence shall be arranged in accordance to page numbers or ordinal numbers, placed in envelopes and kept in a manner as stipulated in paragraph 4 of this Article.
Chapter fourteen
ACTING UPON REQUESTS FOR PARDONING
Article 255
The requests for pardoning shall be acted upon in an urgent manner. The requests for pardoning shall be entered in the registry “Kp”. If the request for pardoning has been submitted before the start of the sentence, the court shall ask for the data related to the property and the behavior of the convicted person from the authority responsible for social works in accordance with the place of living or place of stay of the convicted person. If the convicted person is serving the sentence, the data related to the behavior during the serving of the sentence and data about his/her health status shall be requested from the correctional facility where the sentence is being served if those data are not corroborated with a characteristic or other proofs of that institution enclosed to the request for pardoning. When the request for pardoning is upheld, the source (the document that gave rise to the decision) of the decision shall be enclosed to the case “K”, a verified transcription of the decision shall be kept in the case “Kp”, and the other copy of the verified transcript shall be used to notify the person who has not starter to serve his/her sentence. If the request for pardoning is denied, this fact shall be recorded in the case “K”, the source of the decision shall remain in the case “Kp” while the other copy shall be used to notify the requestor.
Article 256 If the request for pardoning has been submitted by an authorized officer within the specified time period, the court shall acquire the necessary data, shall compose a report with an appropriate elaborated opinion and shall submit the request together with all the documents to the Ministry of Justice. The second copy of the opinion of the court shall be kept in the case file “Kp”.
78 If the request for pardoning is not accompanied with transcripts of court decisions, the court shall ex officio acquire all such transcripts, a shall not request transcripts of the decisions from the party nor a fee for the transcription.
Chapter Fifteen
ACTING UPON REQUESTS FOR EXTRAORDINARY REDUCTION OF A SANCTION
Article 257
Requests and decisions in the procedure for extraordinary reduction of sanctions of first instance courts shall be entered in the registry “Kuk”, while in the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, in the registry “Vuk”.
Chapter sixteen
ACTING OF THE CORTS WITH RESPECT TO THE MAINTENANCE OF CRIMINAL RECORDS AND MISDEMEANOR SANCTION RECORDS
1. MAINTENANCE OF THE CRIMINAL RECORDS
Article 258 Criminal records shall be maintained for all persons convicted of crimes committed on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, as well as for persons convicted of crimes by foreign courts if the verdicts from the foreign courts have been submitted to the national authorities of the Republic of Macedonia. The criminal records shall contain: personal data on the perpetrators of the criminal acts; data about the imposed sentences; alternative measures; safety measures; educational measures and the conviction whereby the perpetrators of criminal acts, for which the criminal records are kept, have been acquitted from the punishment and its legal consequences; additional changes of the data about the convictions entered in the criminal records (decisions from extraordinary legal remedies, amnesty or pardoning), as well as data about the executed sentence and about the annulment of the entry of an illegal conviction.
Article 259 The criminal records shall be kept in accordance to a card system. Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this article, the criminal records may be kept in accordance with the system of automatic data processing on a magnetic medium. The criminal records shall be kept in accordance with the system of cards (each person shall be assigned a separate card) or according to the system of automatic data processing on a magnetic medium. A separate card shall be maintained for every convicted person. This card shall contain the following data:
79 1. Name and surname, and for married women also the maiden name, nickname and the false name if applicable, the date of birth, name and surname of parents and the maiden name of the mother, and for a legal entity the name and headquarters of the legal entity; 2. The unique identification number of the citizen (UINC) – tax number of the legal entity; 3. Place of birth, and for a person born abroad, also the state of birth; 4. Citizenship; 5. Level of education, occupation; 6. Place of living, or place of stay and an indication of the address at the time when of the verdict; 7. Name of the court, and for a foreign court also the name of the state, the number and date of the decision of the first instance court which has become final, or of the decision of a superior court, if this decision modifies the decision of the first instance court; 8. Legal name of the criminal act and an indication of the article number, the paragraph and the item of the law which has been applied; 9. Type of criminal sanction which is entered in the criminal records with an indication of the duration of the imposed criminal sanction; 10. All changes related to the recorded data with an indication of the authority that made the decision and data about the decision; 11. Available data about the convictions imposed by foreign courts against citizens of the Republic of Macedonia and against foreigners having a temporary or a permanent stay in the Republic of Macedonia, and for the convicted legal entities, also the data on the convictions imposed by foreign courts.
2. ENTERING AND DELETING DATA FROM THE CRIMINAL RECORDS
Article 260 The entering of data in the criminal records shall be performed on the basis of the data from the legally effective court decisions which shall be submitted to the court responsible for maintaining the criminal records.
Article 261
The following entities shall submit data to the court responsible for maintaining criminal records, to be entered in the criminal records: 1. The court that adjudicated in the first instance – data about the legal title of the criminal act, with an indication of the article, paragraph, and item of the law which was applied, the type and level of the punishment, the type of alternative measure, the type of the safety measure from each legally effective verdict and the type of educational measure from every legally effective decision, as well as all the changes with respect to the data;
80 2. The court to which the competent court has filed a decision for provision of amnesty or pardoning – data from the decision for providing amnesty or pardoning; 3. The authority which received those data from a foreign authority – data from legally effective court judgments imposed by foreign courts; 4. The authority responsible for the enforcement of the sanction – data about all enforced sanctions; 5. The competent court – data about the suspension of the procedure for enforcement of the sanction. The court, or the responsible authority stipulated in paragraph 1 of this article shall submit the data to be registered in the criminal records to the court responsible for maintaining the criminal records within 15 days from the day when the data were received. The data stipulated in paragraph 1 of this article shall be entered in the Form for criminal records number 60 and the competent authority shall enter them in the registry “UKE” (form no. 60).
Article 262 If, after the registration of the data in the criminal records, an alternative measure, a safety measure or an educational measure has been imposed and if the court is not responsible for the enforcement of the measure, the court responsible for keeping the criminal records shall inform the authority which is responsible to enforce such measure, about the measure.
Article 263 The court responsible for keeping the criminal records shall keep a diary with data about the convictions which shall be deleted from the criminal records in accordance to the provisions stipulated in the Criminal Code.
Article 264 The deletion of the conviction shall be performed by annulment of all the documents with respect to that conviction.
3. GIVING DATA FROM THE CRIMINAL RECORDS
Article 265 The data from the criminal records may be given out only under the conditions prescribed by law, and on the basis of a request submitted in accordance to the provisions of the Criminal Code and this Book of Rules.
Article 266 If the citizen requests data on convictions or lack thereof for the purposes of administering certain rights abroad, he/she shall be obligated to indicate in the request what kind of rights he/she intends to have administered abroad.
81 Article 267
If the court responsible for keeping the criminal records finds that the request does not indicate the reasons for issuing the data or that the request does not contain the necessary data required for the request to be acted upon, it shall invite the submitter of the request to augment the request within a specified time period. If the submitter of the request fails to augment the request within the specified time period, this request shall not be acted upon. Article 268 The court responsible for keeping the criminal records shall issue a Certificate with reference to the request stipulated in article 257 of this Book of Rules (Form no. 133).
Article 269 The data from the criminal records of convicted persons and convictions imposed by a decision from foreign courts can be issued only to the authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code.
Chapter seventeen
RECORDS OF MISDEMEANOR SANCTIONS
1. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS OF MISDEMEANOR SANCTIONS
Article 270 The records of misdemeanor sanctions shall be kept for all persons that have committed a misdemeanor on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia and against which the following misdemeanor sanctions have been imposed: prohibition to operate a motor vehicle, prohibition to perform a professional activity, duty or business, eviction of a foreigner from the country and a temporary prohibition to perform a specific activity. The records of misdemeanor sanctions shall contain: personal data about the perpetrators, data on the imposed sanctions: prohibition to operate a motor vehicle, prohibition to perform a professional activity, duty or business, eviction of a foreigner from the country and a temporary prohibition to perform a specific activity, additional changes of the data (extraordinary legal remedies) and data about the enforced sanction.
Article 271 The records for misdemeanor sanctions shall be kept in accordance with the system of cards (each person shall be assigned a separate card) or according to the system of automatic data processing on a magnetic medium. A separate card shall be maintained for every person against which a misdemeanor sanction has been imposed. This card shall contain the following data
82 1. Name and surname, and for married women also the maiden name, nickname and the false name if applicable, the date of birth, name and surname of parents and the maiden name of the mother; 2. The unique identification number of the citizen (UINC); 3. Tax number of the legal entity; 4. Place of birth, and for a person born abroad, also the state of birth; 5. Citizenship; 6. Level of education, occupation; 7. Place of living, or place of stay and an indication of the address at the time when of the misdemeanor sanction was imposed, and for a legal entity the headquarters of the legal entity at the time when the misdemeanor sanction was imposed; 8. Name of the court, the number and date of the decision of the first instance court which has become final, or of the decision of a superior court, if this decision modifies the decision of the first instance court; 9. Legal name of the imposed misdemeanor sanction and an indication of the article number, the paragraph and the item of the law which has been applied; 10. Type of imposed misdemeanor sanction with an indication of the duration of the imposed misdemeanor sanction; 11. All changes related to the recorded data with an indication of the authority that made the decision and data about the decision;
2. ENTERING AND DELETING DATA FROM THE MISDEMEANOR RECORDS
Article 272 The entering of data in the misdemeanor records shall be performed on the basis of the data from the legally effective court decisions which shall be submitted to the court responsible for maintaining the misdemeanor records. The following entities shall submit data to the court responsible for maintaining misdemeanor records, to be entered in the misdemeanor records: 1. The court that adjudicated in the first instance – data about the imposed misdemeanor sanction which consists of a prohibition with an indication of the type and duration of the prohibition, the basis and the law applied, as well as all the changes with respect to the data; 2. The authority responsible for enforcement of the misdemeanor sanction – data about every enforced misdemeanor sanction; 3. The competent court – data about the suspension of the procedure for enforcement of the misdemeanor sanction. The court, or the responsible authority stipulated in paragraph 1 of this article shall submit the data to be registered in the misdemeanor records to the court responsible for maintaining the misdemeanor records within 15 days from the day when the data were received. The data stipulated in paragraph 1 of this article shall be entered in the Form for misdemeanor records (Form number 61) and the competent authority shall enter them in the registry for records of misdemeanor sanctions (form no. 61).
83
Article 273 If, after the registration of the data in the misdemeanor records, a safety measure has been imposed and if the court is not responsible for the enforcement of the measure, the court responsible for keeping the misdemeanor records shall inform the authority which is responsible to enforce such measure, about the measure.
Article 274 The deletion of a misdemeanor sanction shall be performed by annulment of all the documents with respect to that misdemeanor sanction.
3. GIVING DATA FROM THE RECORDS OF MISDEMEANOR SANCTIONS
Article 275 The data from the records of misdemeanor sanctions may be given out only under the conditions prescribed by law, and on the basis of an elaborated request submitted in accordance to the provisions of the Law on Misdemeanors.
Article 276 If the citizen requests data about an imposed misdemeanor sanction for the purposes of administering certain rights abroad, he/she shall be obligated to indicate in the request what kind of rights he/she intends to have administered abroad.
Article 277 The Court responsible for the maintenance of the records of misdemeanor sanctions shall assess whether the request for getting data from the misdemeanor records is in accordance with the Law on Misdemeanors.
Article 278 If the court responsible for keeping the misdemeanor records finds that the request does not indicate the reasons for issuing the data or that the request does not contain the necessary data required for the request to be acted upon, it shall invite the submitter of the request to explain and augment the request within a specified time period. If the submitter of the request fails to explain or augment the request within the specified time period, this request shall not be acted upon.
Article 279 The court responsible for keeping the criminal records shall issue a Certificate with reference to the request (Form no. 134).
84 Chapter Eighteen
ENFORCEMENT OF SANCTIONS
Article 280
The matters related to enforcement of sanctions shall be conducted by a judge for enforcement of sanctions.
Article 281
Upon receipt of the enforcement decision, the receipt shall be confirmed in writing and the case entered in the appropriate records (form no. 92). By making a record in the registry, a separate file in an appropriate envelope is created (form 135 and 136). All subsequent documents relevant to the case shall be placed in the created file in the chronological order in which they were received by the court.
Article 282
Actions referring to enforcement matters shall be of an urgent nature.
Article 283
In cases where a convicted person is entitled to a free transportation to the correctional facility and should use an intercity transportation, s/he shall be given a ticket (bus, train) or, based on an appropriate certificate, be reimbursed in cash the amount of the ticket. The paid amounts shall be recorded in a special registry of paid transportation costs.
Article 284
When sent to serve a sentence, a convicted person shall be given an referral document for the purposes of proving the identity, in which act s/he shall be advised of the consequences arising from untimely reporting to the penitentiary (form 137).
Article 285
If a convicted person did not file a request for postponing the enforcement of the sentence, the judgment together with all other information concerning the personality of the convicted person shall be delivered to the correctional facility with a notice about the date on which the convicted person was instructed to report to the correctional facility. Upon a notification from the correctional facility, the information whether the convicted person has reported in the correctional facility for serving the sentence on the specified date, shall be recorded in the enforcement registry.
85 Article 286
If a convicted person files a request requesting a postponement of the start of serving the sentence, such information shall be recorded in the appropriate registry. In addition, the decision as per the request for the postponement of the start of serving the prison sentence shall also be recorded. If appeal of the convicted person against a first-instance decision has been rejected, together with the second-instance decision the convicted person shall be informed about the date when s/he shall be obligated to report in the correctional facility for serving the sentence.
Article 287
If the President of the criminal panel has decided positively on an appeal against the decision for rejecting the request for the postponement of the start of serving the sentence, s/he shall inform the court responsible for enforcement of sanctions thereof and shall deliver a copy of the decision to the convicted person. The number and date of the decision of the President of the criminal panel and the date to which the start of the sentence has been postponed, shall be recorded in the enforcement registry.
Article 288
Should a properly summoned convicted person fail to report in the correctional facility or to the enforcement office on the specified date, the court shall order the convicted person to be coercively brought. In the case stipulated in paragraph 1 of this Article the court shall enact a separate decision determining the costs of having the convicted person escorted and the procedure for collecting such costs from the convicted person. Such costs shall also include costs incurred by the internal affairs authority for providing escort for the convicted person.
Article 289
The decision stipulated in Article 289, paragraph 2 of the Court Book of Rules shall be recorded in the Control Book for penalties and criminal procedure costs (Ktr. 1). The same procedure shall apply if a warrant for the arrest of a convicted person has been issued if costs have been incurred for the finding and arrest of the convicted person.
86 Article 290
The provisions of this Chapter shall also apply to the enforcement of other sanctions and educative measures under the jurisdiction of the court.
Chapter Nineteen
COURT POLICE
Article 291
For the purpose of securing the facilities, property, persons and maintaining the order and discipline, the court police shall be authorized to undertake actions pursuant to the rule book for the court police. The president of the court shall, for that purpose, and upon the request of the competent judge, make a weekly plan for providing security to hearings, with an estimation whether a permanent or temporary presence is needed during the process, or a prior search of all the participants in a procedure at the time of their arrival in the court and other actions from the domain of the court police. Persons who have been deprived from freedom, placed in detention or convicted shall be delivered to the court police by the competent authorities, and after the activities have been implemented, the court police shall deliver them to the competent authorities.
Article 292
The president of the court shall manage the court police. The court police in the court shall be under the direct command of the commander of the court police, in accordance with the instructions and guidelines of the president of the court. The court police shall work continuously 24 hours per day. The president of the court shall be obligated to equip the court police with sufficient court police staff to cover the working hours stipulated in paragraph 3 of this article.
Duties in Court
Article 272
The schedule and duration of duties shall be determined by the president of the court at the beginning of each month. The president of the court shall be obligated to provide for permanent duty in the court, in particular for: - the courts with expanded jurisdiction, where the duties are carried out in the working premises permanently;
87 - the courts with basic jurisdiction, the duty shall be carried out on call.
PART FIVE Chapter Twenty
MATERIAL AND FINANCIAL OPERATIONS
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 294 The material and financial operations shall also cover operation of courts with non-budgetary funds which shall comprise operations with funds received by the court as court deposits from other authorities or individuals, such as: (a) cash money or items of value deposited for a particular purpose (short term safekeeping – temporary deposit) and (b) cash money or items of value for which the new beneficiary shall be determined in a court procedure (long-term safekeeping – regular deposit).
Article 295
The material and financial operations with parties shall be conducted pursuant to a judge order on a particular case. If there is no order from a judge for the receipt of a certain amount or object, the officer in charge of the material and financial operation shall urgently request the issue of such an order, and where there is no case, a new case shall be created for that purpose and recorded in the register for various civil cases. Deposits and withdrawals of cash and items of value shall be recorded in the prescribed books. A note of the paid deposit or of the receipt, with an ordinal number under which it has been recorded, shall be enclosed to the case. Withdrawals of cash and other valuables under the non-budgetary financial operations of the court shall be recorded in a special book called “Testament of receipt” (form no. 138).
Chapter Twenty-One
COURT DEPOSITS
Article 296
The operation with court deposits shall be performed on the basis of an order, given by a president of a panel or a individual judge, pursuant to the provision of the Court Book of Rules.
88 In case of non-existence of an order at the time of the receipt of a certain amount or an object, the bookkeeper shall request such an order, and in if there is no case, s/he shall, for that purpose, open a new case and record it in the registry “R”. A note for the performed depositing and receipt shall be written on the envelope of the case, indicating the deposit card or ordinal number of the diary for non-cash receipts, and the report about the change and status of deposited assets shall be pasted in chronological order on a separate card attached to the case.
Article 297
Receipt and issuance of cash and items of value shall be carried out on the basis of receipt or records, which are kept as a monetary document, confirmed with the signature of the recipient in the appropriate column of the record book.
Chapter Twenty-Two
INTERIM DEPOSITS
1. Objects and Place of Keeping
Article 298
Interim deposits shall be cash and items of value intended for immediate use or within the shortest time period for a specific purpose (previous deposits of assets for perusal, expertise or if the beneficiary of such assets needs to be determined in a court procedure).
Article 299
The deposited cash and items of value shall be kept in the treasury office of the court, or on the court’s account, or in a bank safe box in an authorized bank and shall be immediately delivered to the competent institution.
Article 300
In case the object of the deposit is not suitable for keeping it in the court or in a safe box, due to its special characteristics and volume, the deposit shall be kept by a legal entity or a natural person. For each deposit there shall be an indication of the name of the depositor, the number of the case, and the legal matter to which it refers.
89 Article 301
Cash received during the day by the treasury office of the court shall be entered immediately or no later than the following working day, on the deposit account in an authorized bank.
Article 302
Upon judge’s order, the following non-cash deposits may be received by the court’s treasury office: securities, items of value, foreign currency, savings books and other documents and the same may not be used by the court or any other person in the court.
2. Receiving of Cash and Items of Value
Article 303
Receiving of cash and items of value shall be carried out through an authorized bank, by mail, or in the court.
Article 304
Payment on the account of the court shall be made by a payment order, which shall contain the following information: name of the court, number of the case to which the payment refers and the purpose of the payment and a specification, if any. Cash money, with recorded serial numbers shall be received as an exception, with an approval by the judge, where a receipt form in three copies shall be prepared, of which, the original shall be submitted to the depositor, the first copy shall be attached to the payment order, and the second copy shall remain in the block receipts.
Article 305
The money received by mail shall be recorded during the same day through a payment order in the treasury’s report, and after that they shall be entered in the deposits records. The cash payment order, received through the deposit account, with the bank account statement shall be directly entered in the evidence of deposits. If the legal matter, with reference to which the cash money or items of value were received, may not be determined immediately, the sender shall be called within a determined time period to give an explanation about the purpose of the delivery or to clarify the legal matter to which the deposit refers, with a cautionary notification that if s/he fails to respond to the invitation, the deposited money shall be returned to him/her at his/her own expense.
90 3. Receiving of Items of Value and Other Objects
Article 306
Received items of value and objects shall be inventoried and appraised by a committee formed by the president of the court and consisting of three members, of which one shall be an authorized officer from the accounting office and shall be deposited in a safe box of an authorized bank or a different authorized entity. The committee shall describe the received items of value piece by piece, describing their quality, quantity, weight and other characteristics, in order to eliminate any possibility for to confuse them. Minutes in two copies shall be prepared for the received items of value, of which, the first copy shall be attached to the relevant case, and the second one shall be placed in an envelope together with the items of value or other objects. If necessary an assessment shall be made and if the committee is not be able to make the assessment on its own, an expert witness shall be appointed in order to determine the type of items of value. After the items of value have been inventoried, they shall be assessed by the court expert witness according to the market value on the date of their receipt in the court. The judge shall determine the costs of inventorying and the costs of the assessment as well as who shall cover these costs.
Article 307
Securities, as the subject of the deposit shall be entered in and inventory, which shall contain the following information: state in which the securities were issued, name and title of the issuer of securities, series and numbers, the stipulated amount, talon, and coupons of securities and date of payment or realization of the first coupon. If the securities are issued in the Republic of Macedonia, their value shall be indicated as a nominal value. If the securities do not contain all the coupons, or if during the payment of the coupon, a part of the principal is paid in addition to the interest, the value which shall be indicated shall be the value of the security on the day of preparation of the inventory. If the securities are issued abroad, and their value in Macedonian denars cannot be determined immediately, their nominal value shall be indicated.
Article 308
Savings books shall be inventoried by indicating the title of the issuer, owner and user, number of the savings book, balance, amount and possibly the special sign. The value of the savings book shall be estimated according to the balance in nominal amount, if the savings book has been issued by a domestic bank or savings house. If the savings book has been issued by a foreign bank, or a bank from the former SFRY or before ___.___.1991 and its real value may not be determined, the value shall be expressed in denars of the Republic of Macedonia, according to the estimated and
91 foreign exchange value, and if that is not possible, as well, then the value shall be expressed as one denar (evidence denar).
Article 309
The documents and other securities shall be inventoried by indicating their characteristics, issuer, date and place of issuance and other relevant information. Documents shall be inventoried as numbers, without indicating their value.
Article 310
If a subject of the deposit is foreign currency, the inventory shall contain the country where the currency is a legitimate mean of payment, by indicating the nominal value of the bill, title of the issuer, series and number, and other important information. The value of the foreign currency shall be expressed according to the exchange rate on the date when it was received or deposited.
Article 311
Items of value (valuables, securities and documents) that are kept in the court’s safe box or submitted for safekeeping to a depository place shall be placed in separate envelopes (packages) which shall indicate the working numbers of the writ, the legal matter they refer to, detailed specification of the content, name, surname and address of the depositor. The court shall keep the cash in its treasury office only if the cash that it has received directly from the party or by mail, needs to be paid out immediately. If the received amount may not be paid within five days from the date when it was received, or may not be kept in the treasury office due to the regulations referring to the treasury maximum, it shall be placed on a separate deposit account of the court kept in the bank. The deposit may be used only for the specified purpose. A copy of the minutes of the inventory and assessment shall be placed in the envelope together with the subject of the deposit.
4. Issuance of Cash and Items of Value
Article 312
Cash and items of value shall be issued on the basis of a written order from a judge, in the manner determined by him/her. The order shall contain: the subject of issuance, name and surname or title of the beneficiary to whom the object is issued and number of the deposit. The payment of cash shall be made at the cash register of the court, by mail or bank. The cash, which is in the bank, on a short-term account, shall be paid with an appropriate money order.
92 The non-cash objects (items of value) shall be issued directly to the beneficiary with an inventory from the book of items of value or by mail, or through the relevant court. Items of value shall be issued directly to the user on the basis of a signature of the judge, placed on the transcription of the order for issuance of the items of value, which shall be kept as a bookkeeping document. If the item of value is issued by mail or through a relevant court, a committee consisting of three members shall be formed, of which one person shall be the administrator of non-cash deposits, who will check the package, and then close it and submit it for delivery. Temporary issuance of cash and items of value intended for use in a court procedure shall be made through a charge book or a written obligation, which is deposited in an appropriate envelope. The written obligation shall be cancelled when the temporary issued object is returned.
Article 313
In case of a change of the real or territorial competence of the court where the objects are deposited (depositary court), the deposit shall be delivered to the court having real and territorial competence, on the basis of a decision through a bank or by mail.
Article 314
All possible impediments related to the issuance of the court deposits or to certain legal matters (prohibition for issuance, right to possess, or realize an order or testament) or to certain repetitive handling matters shall be recorded with red pencil in the introduction of the relevant accounting book.
Article 315
The decision which permits the enforcement of a deposit by way of an inventory and appraisal shall be delivered to the depositary court, which shall enter the note for permitted enforcement in the introduction of the relevant accounting book.
Chapter Twenty-Three
REGULAR COURT DEPOSITS
1. Subject and Receiving of Regular Deposits
Article 316
Objects of regular deposits shall be: cash, other items of value and non-cash objects.
93 The court shall receive the regular court deposits and keep them into a depositary place. Depositary places shall be the following: 1. The National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia – for precious metals (gold and platinum) and objects made of these metals, such as: coins, regardless if put into circulation as means of payment or not; 2. Commercial banks and their branch offices in the headquarters of the court or the nearest branch office authorized for keeping court deposits; 3. Other authority or company appointed by a court decision for keeping deposits.
Article 317
The depositary places shall receive the court deposit directly from the parties or through the court. In the order for creation of a deposit, the court shall advise the depositor to deposit the cash directly in the depositary place by filling in a deposit form. On the front page of the deposit form, the court shall place its mark, number and type of the deposit, name of the user, as well as an information whether a new deposit is created or the amount is deposited on the account of the already existing deposit, in the fields reserved for information on the depositary places and owner of the account.
Article 318
The court shall deliver for keeping the items of value to the depositary place after it makes an inventory and an assessment, in sealed envelopes (packages) on the front side of which a title of the deposit shall be placed, an indication of the writ with a notification that the transcription from the minutes of the inventory and the assessment is in the envelope. Next to the stamp on the envelope, the signatures of members of the committee, which sealed the envelope, shall be written. Items of value referring to the same deposit shall be placed together in the same envelope. If a certain action needs to be carried out in the savings books, the court shall request a temporary issuance of the savings book from the depositary place. After the action is performed, the savings book shall be returned to the depositary place with a separate decision. The same procedure shall also be followed in cases with securities or other documents that are not kept in the court.
Article 319
The receipt for the received sealed envelopes with items of value, foreign currency, savings books issued from the depositary places, shall be kept in the treasury office of the court.
94 If the depositary place, when issuing the deposit, requests the return of the receipt together with the decision, the court shall return the receipt, while the treasury office of the court shall keep a verified copy of the receipt.
Article 320
Each regular deposit shall have its own title indicating the legal matter to which it refers (e.g.: enforcement case of Rajna Pavlovska, Vaska Kostovska, Dobrila Bosilkova, Dragica Dimitrova, I.no.20/06 or heritage of Aleksandar Aleksovski O.no.19/05). The name of the depositor and the legal matter to which the deposit refers shall be indicated with the interim court deposits (e.g.: depositor Rajna Pavlovska, in the dispute of Vaska Kostovska against Dobrila Bosilkova P.no.22/06).
2. Administration of Deposits
Article 321
The court shall administer the deposits directly or through the depositary place. For the purposes of implementing certain actions related to administration of deposits, the court shall take over the case from the depositary place, and shall perform the relevant actions during the same day as the day when the case was received from the depositary place, and shall submit a report thereof. If the action is not carried out during the same day, the received case shall be delivered to the officer who keeps the records of the deposits for temporary safekeeping in the treasury office of the court, which shall be recorded in the diary for non-cash deposits as an interim deposit.
Article 322
In case of a change of the depositary place, the deposit with an order shall be transferred to the new depositary place. The order shall request submission of an excerpt referring to the condition of the deposit with all necessary notes and other data necessary to determine the costs, to the depositary court. Such an order shall also be issued in case of a change of the depositary court, while the depositary place remains the same.
Article 323
Certain impediments regarding the issuance of deposits or performance of certain legal actions related to them (prohibition for divestiture or acquiring debts, right to possess, realization of orders arising from a testament) or certain repetitive handling activities shall be recorded by putting notes with a red pencil on the cover page of the
95 relevant book. The depositary place shall be notified about these notes with a decision, for the purposes of entering it into its own records. For the period during which the note stipulated in paragraph 1 of this Article exists on the deposit, the depositary place may not perform activities that are contrary to the content of the note, until otherwise provided by the court.
Article 324
The decision of the enforcement court, which allows enforcement, shall be submitted to the depositary court with a signature and an assessment of the deposit. After the depositary court has recorded the note which allows the enforcement in the deposit card, a decision shall be made which will order the depositary place to enter the performed inventory and the assessment in its own records as a prohibition for issuance of the deposit.
3. Issuance of Deposits
Article 325
Court deposits shall be issued on the basis of a decision from the depositary court. The decision shall contain: the object of issuance, name and surname of the user to whom the deposit is issued, name, number of the deposit and manner of enforcement of the decision with a note that the depositary charges have been paid, or the legal grounds for exemption from payment of charges. A copy of the decision intended for the depositary place shall be signed by the president of the court or the appointed judge, whose signatures have been deposited in the bank. The decision for the depositary place shall be submitted by an authorized officer of the court or by registered mail. A special eight-angle seal in red color shall be affixed on the copy of the decision for the depositary place.
Article 326
The depositary place shall issue non-cash deposits upon court’s order of authorized legal entities and natural persons directly or by mail delivery (money order, or package with an indication of the value in it). In case of issuance of valuables, the court, as a rule, shall order the depositary place to submit the envelope with valuables to the court on the territory of which the user lives, or to return it to him/her.
Article 327
In case of delivery or certain objects from a sealed envelope (packet), the court shall order with a decision to the depositary place to return the sealed envelope.
96 The returned envelope shall be opened in the presence of a committee, and the different objects shall be submitted to the user with a receipt which shall be enclosed to the case. If the user is not present, which means that the direct delivery is not possible immediately upon the receipt of the envelope, the objects that are inside the envelope shall be submitted for temporary keeping in the safe box of the court, entered in the relevant diary and the user shall be immediately invited to take the deposit within a specified time period. If the user does not have a place of living on the territory of the depositary court, the object of the deposit shall be submitted for direct delivery to the court responsible for the territory where the user has a place of living.
Article 328
In case of a partial issuance of valuables from the envelope, the current numbers of issued objects shall be entered in the inventory and the assessment, with a note indicating the time of issuance. This conclusion shall be confirmed with a signature by the members of the committee that made the partial issuance The other objects together with the inventory and the assessment shall be sealed again and returned to the depository place with a new court decision for depositing.
4. Keeping of Deposits with Other Authorities, Notaries and Companies
Article 329
If the object of the court deposit is special due to its volume or other characteristics and therefore is not suitable for safekeeping in the court, it shall be kept in some other authority or a notary. Prior to making a decision, the court shall request from the proposing entity to deposit an advance for covering the costs for keeping. Prior to entrusting the object of the deposit for keeping, the court shall make an inventory and an assessment and shall draft minutes in four copies, of which, one shall be attached to the case, the second shall be delivered for keeping together with the object of the deposit, while the third one shall be enclosed to the documentation of the accounting office and the fourth one shall be given to the proposing entity.
Article 330
The decision which sets forth the issuance of a deposit shall also determine the costs incurred due to the safekeeping of the deposit, the entity which shall cover those costs and advance that needs to be deposited.
97 5. Procedure for Deposits which have Reached the Statute of Limitations
Article 331
If the user of the deposit, upon an invitation by the court does not take over the deposit, the court shall, upon the expiration of the statute of limitations, determine with a decision that the right for issuance of the decision has reached the statute of limitation and that the object of the deposit shall become a property of the Republic of Macedonia. The decision that sets forth the issuance of a deposit to the user, in addition to the time period within which the deposit needs to be taken over, shall also stipulate an advice regarding the legal consequences if the deposit is not taken over during the specified time period after which the right for its issuance shall expire.
Chapter Twenty-Four
WORKING BOOKS FOR RECORDING DEPOSITS
1. Working Books
Article 332
The court shall keep books of deposits in a manner that provides for an insight in the conditions and movements of the assets of each deposit of each case.
Article 333
For the purpose of making records of the objects of the deposit, the court shall keep main working books and other ancillary record books.
Article 334
The following main working books shall be kept for receiving and issuing of cash, items of value and other objects referring to deposit matters (interim and regular): 1. Treasury report for receiving and issuing of cash (form no.139); 2. Diary for interim and regular deposits (form no.140); 3. Cards of the main book for interim and regular deposits (form no.141); 4. Diary of non-cash deposits kept in the court treasury office (form no.142) and 5. Diary of non-cash deposits kept with other authorities (form no.143). If the court has several depository places, it shall keep separate diaries for non- cash deposits for each depositary place separately. Working books for deposits shall be public documents.
98 Article 335
In addition to main books, the court shall also keep ancillary books which it will use as a supporting tool for executing the basic tasks of accounting of deposits, such as: 1. Cards for the diary of non-cash deposits (form no.144); 2. Registry of cards of deposits (form no.145); 3. Registry of account of deposits (form no.146); 4. Book for receiving deposits for receiving (form no.138) and 5. Book for delivery of deposits (form no.147).
2. Records of the Deadlines for Handling Deposits
Article 336
Regarding the time periods during which certain actions are undertaken related to operation with time limited deposits, records of the deadlines for execution of actions related court deposits shall be kept. This type of records shall be kept according to the calendar system (form no.148). The deadlines shall be entered one month earlier.
3. Main Working Books
Article 337
Diaries for non-cash deposits, as well the treasury report shall be tied together, and fastened with a band whose ends shall be tied to the cover with a seal of the court and which shall be verified with a signature of the president of the court and authorized officer of the accounting office. The pages of these diaries shall be marked with ordinal numbers. The diary and main book of interim and regular deposits shall be kept separately, in accordance with the type of the deposit.
Article 338
A new card shall be opened for each new case for which a deposit is made. Prior to opening a new analytical card, a the responsible officer will verify whether there has been another deposit related to the same legal matter and whether an analytical card has been opened for it. The accounting cards of the main book shall be kept separately according to the types of deposits, in secured boxes or other desks adapted for that purpose.
Article 339
Records of deposits, recorded in the non-cash diaries shall be kept in the analytical cards, regardless if they are interim or regular deposits (form no.143).
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Article 340
The content of analytical cards for interim and regular deposits shall be determined with form no.140. If one analytical card is filled in, for the purpose of continuing the records a new analytical card shall be attached under the same number of the account and with the subsequent operating number of the page. The account shall be written in the middle of the title, and below it, a space shall be left for notes for the cases referring to the same deposit, which are recorded in another diary. The connection of the records with other diaries shall be made by indicating the ordinal number of the relevant diary, as well as indicating the number of the deposit card which is used as a point of reference.
4. Ancillary Books and Records
DIRECTORY OF AN ACCOUNT
Article 341
A directory of the holder of the account shall be kept for the purposes of analytical records of deposits. A separate column in the directory shall be envisaged for each type of deposit. From the diary one should be able to see whether the account is opened or closed and liquidated and separated from the card. The data stipulated in paragraph 3 shall be entered in the relevant column (note on the deposit) by circling the number of the account of the deposit.
BOOKS FOR RECEIVING AND DELIVERY OF DEPOSITS
Article 342
The receiving and delivering of cash and valuable packages shall be carried out through the receipt or delivery book of cash and other valuable packages (charging book for receipts and charging book for delivering. The books shall be tied, bound with a band and verified by the president of the court. The two books shall be concluded at the end of the year. The conclusion of books shall be signed by the authorized officer of the accounting office, and verified by the president of the court.
100 MANNER OF RECORDING DEPOSITS
Article 343
The recordings in the ledger and in the analytical records of deposits shall be made in chronological order in the diary according to the accounting standards.
Article 344
The authorized officer who is in charge of deposit accounting shall be obligated to prepare a Report on the Status of the Deposit (form no.153). The report shall be submitted to the judge and the authorized officer in the intake office through the delivery book, and the receipt shall be confirmed with a signature of the recipient. The reports received from the accounting office shall be pasted in chronological order on a separate card on the status of the deposit for the relevant case (form no.154).
5. Annual Balance of Assets from Deposits
Article 345
After the annual conclusion of the diary and cards, the status of each deposit shall be transferred from column 5 – gross status (form no.155), and the status of the cash in the treasury office, and entered in the form “balance of assets of deposits” (form no.156) which represents the status of assets of the deposit at the end of the year. After composing the balance of assets of deposits, the president of the court shall appoint a committee consisting of three members for review of the total operation of assets for deposits for the previous year. The committee shall, after having performed a review, prepare a report in writing, which will submit to the president of the court. The balance of assets of deposits shall be prepared within the time period specified for preparation of the final annual financial statement for the regular activities. The review of court deposits and review of the pronounced and paid monetary fines, costs of procedures and seizure of property and property gains shall be a separate attachment to the final annual financial statement of the court.
6. Safekeeping of Documents and Records
Article 346
The documents and records of deposits shall be kept for at least 30 years counting from the last day of the year they refer to.
101 Article 347
The analytical cards which refer to accounts which during the year were separated from the regular records and were transferred to the records of liquidated accounts, shall be kept in the same manner as the analytical cards referring to deposits for which the procedure is still pending. The transfer of analytical cards from records to the liquidated account shall be recorded in the directory of the account by circling the registry number of the card and by indicating the date when the transfer of the analytical card was made. Upon the expiration of two years, the analytical cards referring to liquidated accounts shall be tied in a package by groups and submitted to the archive, where they will be kept until the specified time period. The year of the analytical cards included in the package and their current number shall be written on the outer side of the packages.
7. Supervision over the Operation with Assets of Deposits
Article 348
The supervision over the material and financial operation with assets from deposits shall be performed by the president of the court in addition to authorities which are determined for supervision of such operations by special regulations. The president of the court shall be obligated to make a review of the entire material and financial operation at least twice a year. If the review determines certain smaller deficiencies and irregularities during the supervision, necessary instructions and solutions for their removal shall be given. If the review determines bigger irregularities and deficiencies omissions to the extent that may lead to initiation a procedure for dismissal for violating the working discipline or initiation of a criminal procedure, the necessary measure shall be undertaken to initiate such a procedure and to provide for possible compensation of damages.
Chapter Twenty-Five
OPERATION WITH MAIL
Article 349
The authorized officer shall receive the postal packages addressed for the court, on the basis of an authorization which shall contain the following: name and surname of the authorized officer, type of package that s/he may receive, validity period of the authorization, signature of the president of the court and the authorized officer and an imprint of the official seal. If the authorization is limited only for receipt of a certain type of packages or only for specific cases, such limitations need to be precisely stated in the authorization.
102 Article 350
Courts may use post office boxes for receiving regular mail. Registered mail and other similar packages shall be submitted to the authorized officer only with a signature or a receipt. The authorized officer shall receive money orders and alike with a charging book for receipts. In case when a postal sending bill or accompanying list for valuable package arrives in the court, the authorized officer for monetary operations shall sign the compendium of the bill or accompanying list and shall affix the seal of the court. The bill or accompanying list which have been verified in this manner shall be given to the authorized officer for receiving money or valuable packages for the purpose of receiving it form the post office. Prior to receiving the package, the authorized officer, in the presence of a post office clerk shall check the package and determine that the envelopes, packages or seals have not been damaged. If the envelope and seal have been damaged, the authorized officer shall cancel the receipt and request the content of the package to be determined in presence of a committee, and shall also inform the president of the court and managing authority of the post office. The court shall not receive packages delivered to it without paid fess, and for which shipping fees need to be paid, if the sender is a natural person or a legal entity.
Article 351
Postal packages shall be sent by mail or other authorized entities for postal traffic. Regular packages shall be delivered to the post office or other authorized entities for postal traffic in order for them to be send through the delivery book or in a manner determined with a special agreement. Delivering of packages, valuable packages and cash shall be made by way of a charging book for delivery through the officer authorized for receiving such mail.
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Article 352 In the courts, the registrations shall be made in an electronic form, and the case allocation shall be made electronically. The president of the court, once per year, or more frequently if necessary, shall enact a code book for entering in the court information system for every officer who is authorized to work on a personal computer. The code book stipulated in paragraph 2 of this article shall determine the level and the degree to which each authorized officer may access the protected court information system. If the security codes are broken, the president of the court and the officer responsible for information technology in the court and the Information Technology
103 Center at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia shall establish a new code book. This procedure shall be also followed if the authorized officer, for any reason is not present at his/her working position. The Center for Information Technology at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia shall be informed of any changes made to the code book.
Chapter twenty six
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Article 353
The president, the judges and judicial officers in the court shall be obligated to provide for the necessary conditions for providing publicity of the work of the court and appropriate access of the media with respect to current information and procedures conducted within the court, taking into consideration the interests of the procedure, the privacy and safety of the participants in the procedure. The time, place and the case on trial shall be published every day on a visible position opposite of the room where the trial is held. For the trails for which the public has expressed greater interest, the court administration shall provide for a room which can accommodate a larger number of persons. The court panel shall be obligated, upon an order from the president, to hold the trial in the room provided for that purpose.
Article 354
The reports for the media with reference to the work of the court shall be provided by the president or the judge assigned for this purpose by the president. The reports with reference to specific cases, with an agreement from the president, shall be provided by the judge acting on that case. The data in the reports must be accurate. Classified information with a certain level of secrecy in accordance with the law may not be divulged. Within the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, the Constitutional Court, the appellate courts and the basic courts with a larger number of judges, a separate department shall be formed or a judge shall be appointed for the purposes of providing open and objective information to the public about the work of the court. When contacting the public or the media all possible means of modern communication shall be used in accordance with the material capabilities of the court.
Article 355 The judges and the officers in the court which, on their own behalf write or speak in the media about the legal, social and other issues with relation to specific cases from the case law, shall be obligated to explicitly state that they write or speak on their own behalf, or that they present their own personal opinion.
104 Article 356 The journalists – reporters may attend the public hearings in a civil procedure and the main hearings in a criminal procedure without an obligation to have acquired an approval from the court. The court shall be obligated to provide for conditions wherein they could attend and work. The visual and audio recording, reporting and photographing in a court proceeding may performed with an approval from the president of the court, with a previously acquired opinion from the judge and the authorized prosecutor in the criminal procedure and with a written consent from the parties in a civil procedure. Notwithstanding, if the party in the procedure is an elected official or civil servant, representative of the local authorities or a person that performs other public duty, there shall be no need for a written consent for recording and photographing the proceedings. Recording and photographing within the courthouse, outside of the trial may be performed with an approval from the president of the court that manages the building.
Article 357 An approval for recording or photographing shall be provided by the president of the court on the basis of a formally filed written request. The request may be filed within five days before the scheduled hearing, on a form which shall be issued by the court administration. The requests which have not been submitted on time shall not be rejected if justified reasons for the lateness of the requests have been demonstrated. The request shall contain the following: - Name of the medium - Names and composition of the reporting teams (cameraman, photograph, assistant, etc.); - Description of the technical equipment which will enter the courtroom and the planned method of coverage (video, audio, photo etc.); - Indication of the period in which the recording of a specified trial or of the participant in the proceedings outside of the trial and in the courthouse, shall take place.
Article 358 When enacting the decision to provide an approval to record and photograph, consideration shall be given to the interest and the confidence of the public, the nature of the case, the interest of the procedure, the privacy and safety of the participants in the procedure. The recording and photographing shall take place under the supervision of the judge, or the president of the panel in a manner which will provide for a smooth flow of the proceedings, order in the courtroom and respect for the dignity of the court. The recording and photographing in the court may be interrupted or limited in the following cases: - Upon a request from the parties, and after a decision of the court, at any time; - If the court has enacted a decision excluding the public from a part of the proceeding or from a particular procedural action, due to the legal considerations;
105 - If the witness – the damaged party from a crime requests this, for the duration of his/her testimony; - If the court finds that a participant in the procedure could be exposed to danger, shame, potential damages or there could be potential barriers to the implementation of legislative measures of coercion or if the nature of the evidence which need to be disclosed, this is warranted (hearing of protected witnesses, juveniles etc.)
Article 359 The approval for media coverage of the trial shall also entail the provision of an adequate courtroom. In the courtroom, a separate section shall be provided for the media teams and the observers, fenced or specially marked, with a separate entrance, if possible. In order to provide for appropriate seating in the reserved part of the courtroom the journalists and observers shall inform the court of their intention to attend. The court officer shall make sure that the persons that have an approval from the president of the court, as well as the journalists and observers who do not need a special an approval take the places reserved for them. Upon a request from the judge or the judicial officer, the journalist shall produce the journalist’s identification card for perusal and shall state the name of the medium for which he/she is reporting. It shall be prohibited to provide an unfair advantage to one medium when giving out approvals or seating the attendees in the reserved section of the courtroom. Every medium that has filed a request to get an approval to cover a trial may be allowed to take in the courtroom one video or TV camera, one audio system and two photographing cameras (with at most two apertures each), whereby each of the above mentioned techniques shall be used by one person.
Article 360 The cameramen and the photographers, during the coverage, must not move, make movements or to assume positions which may be distractive or disrupt the order in the courtroom. The microphones and the appropriate installations shall be mounted before the event on a position which shall be determined by the judge. All microphones must be equipped with a switch that will enable them to be temporarily switched off. The camera and other equipment (mobile telephones, computers) must not produce effects which can be distractive. The equipment may not be brought in or brought out of the courtroom while the court is in session.
Article 361 The court may determine the method of work and reporting in a closed system by an internal television, in order to enable free access and overtaking of video and audio records (pictures, tone, and voice). If by issuing copies the court has incurred cost, those costs shall be recovered by the requestor.
106 Article 362 The photographing and recording in the court, as well as the public broadcasting may be performed on the basis of the previously acquired written authorization from the president of the court. The photographing and video recording within the building outside of court proceedings shall be approved by the president that manages the building which holds the court offices.
Article 363 The video and audio recording of the main hearing in a criminal procedure and the public broadcasting (rebroadcasting) of the footage outside of the cases envisaged with the Law on Criminal Procedure shall be performed with an approval from the president of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Macedonia, in accordance with a prior opinion from the president of the panel, the judges and with a consent of the parties. The video and audio recording of the main hearing in a civil procedure and the public broadcasting of the footage shall be performed with an approval from the president of the Court, in accordance with a prior opinion from the panel, president of the panel, the judges and with consent of the parties. The photographing during the trial and the public presentation of the photographs shall be approved by the president of the panel, the judge on the basis of a previously given consent by the parties and the other participants in the procedure. When giving approvals for photographing and recording consideration shall be given to the interests of the public, the interests of the proceedings, the privacy and safety of the participants in the procedure. The photographing and recording in the courtroom, after having acquired an approval, shall be performed under the guidance of the president of the panel and the judges, in a manner that will provide for smooth flow of the trial and which enables orders in the courtroom.
Chapter twenty seven
Mandatory forms and stamps
Article 364
The mandatory forms and stamps according to the Court Book of Rules shall be an integral part of this Book of Rules.
107 SECTION SIX
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 365
As of the 01.01.2008 the registry books in all courts in the Republic of Macedonia shall be maintained in an electronic format, and the case assignment shall be done electronically
Article 366
As of the date of legal effectiveness of this Court Book of Rules, the Book of Rules ( “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia” no. 9/97) shall cease to apply.
Article 367
This book of orders shall enter into force on the eighth day of the date of its publication in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia”.
Number 07-916/36 1st June 2007 Skopje MINISTER OF JUSTICE Mihajlo Manevski
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