North Macedonia’s Judicial Council will hold an emergency session on Tuesday to decide whether to strip an appeals court judge of his immunity and approve a request for house arrest, in a case that has drawn public attention amid allegations of corruption within the judiciary.
The 535th emergency session, scheduled to start at 1530 local time (1430 GMT), will consider a request from the Skopje Basic Criminal Court seeking the removal of immunity and the approval of house arrest for appeals court judge Gjoko Ristov, the council said.
The move follows a proposal by prosecutors for precautionary measures after police found about 350,000 euros ($380,000) hidden inside a wall at the home of Ristov’s parents in the central town of Negotino, according to investigators. Prosecutors have said the money was of unexplained origin.
Under North Macedonian law, judges enjoy immunity, and judicial approval is required before courts can proceed with detention-related measures. A pre-trial judge formally notified the Judicial Council after prosecutors submitted their request, officials said.
Ristov, who serves at the Skopje Court of Appeal, has been on sick leave since last week and has not been seen at work since the investigation began, according to people familiar with the case. Authorities have not said whether he is currently in the country.
The Interior Ministry and prosecutors declined to comment on Ristov’s whereabouts. The Office for the Prosecution of Organised Crime and Corruption said late on Monday that the public prosecutor would “assess in the coming days the need for measures to secure the suspect’s presence.”
Investigators earlier searched Ristov’s apartment in Skopje but found no suspicious items, local media reported.
The case is linked to a broader investigation into alleged bribery involving lawyer Fehmi Stafa, who is suspected of attempting to influence judicial decisions at the Skopje Court of Appeal. Prosecutors have said Ristov’s name appears in that investigation.
Concerns over corruption and the rule of law have long been a sensitive issue in North Macedonia, a NATO member and European Union candidate country, where judicial reforms are a key requirement for progress in accession talks with Brussels.