The Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia Ljupco Kocevski was born on 01.08.1960 in Tetovo.
He graduated at the Faculty of Law at the University “St. Cyril and Methodius” – Skopje in 1992, passing the bar exam in 1994.
From 1995 to 2008 he worked as a lawyer in Tetovo. He has been part of the the Prosecutors’ Office since 05.11.2008, when he was elected as a public prosecutor in the Higher Prosecutors’ Office in Gostivar.
During his career as a public prosecutor, Kocevski was a member of the Steering Committee and of the Commission for Final Exams of the Academy for Judges and Public Prosecutors “Pavel Shatev”, member of the Executive Board of the Association of Public Prosecutors, as well as member of several working groups assigned to draft laws.
The Council for Public Prosecutors elected Kocevski as a public prosecutor in the State Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of North Macedonia on 18.01.2022. There is managing the Department for meta data and surveillance measures and was a President of the Disciplinary Commission.
He was elected by the Parliament as state Public Prosecutor on 13.02.2024.
The Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia is an official appointed by the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, upon a proposal of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, for a term of six years with a right to be reappointed. He/she is accountable for his/her work and the work of his/her public prosecutor’s office to the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia.
The conditions to be fulfilled by anyone willing to become Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia are: to be an able-bodied citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia with good general health condition, to be proficient in the Macedonian language, to have obtained a Bachelor’s Degree and to have passed the Bar Exam in the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as to have work experience of at least eight years after passing the bar exam, with proven law related results, or to be a full-time / part-time university professor who has been teaching law related subject from the judicial practice for more than ten years.
The Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia represents the Public Prosecutor’s Office, manages its work and exercises the rights and obligations provided by law. He/she is responsible for the general state of affairs regarding the organization and execution of the functions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, issues general obligatory instructions in writing to higher public prosecutors, the basic public prosecutor dealing with prosecution of organized crime and corruption and basic public prosecutors in connection with undertaking measures and activities for protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of people and citizens, the interests of the State and other legal entities, in direction of a more effective detection and prosecution of crimes and their perpetrators as well as in direction of a lawful determination of facts and law application. According to the law, the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia may undertake criminal prosecution and undertake other actions that are in competence of a higher, basic or basic public prosecutor dealing with prosecution of organized crime and corruption, or may authorize them to conduct proceedings in relation to certain cases or undertake other actions that are under the competence of another public prosecutor.
At the beginning of each calendar year, the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia adopts an Annual Work Schedule and submits an Annual Report on the performance of the public prosecutor’s offices and the state of crime in the Republic of North Macedonia.
The Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia submits a request to the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia for initiating an assessment of the compliance of a law with the Constitution or the compliance of other bylaws with the Constitution and the existing laws, should issues of constitutionality and legality arise in the course of the work of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
In case of termination of the office or dismissal of the Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia, the Council of Public Prosecutors of the Republic of North Macedonia shall assign a Public Prosecutor from among public prosecutors of the Republic of North Macedonia to exercise the function until the appointment of a Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia.
15 public prosecutors have exercised the office of Public Prosecutor of the Republic of North Macedonia since 1944.