Justitia – Swarovski – Courtesan


Zvonko Davidovic

A blindfolded girl with a sword in one hand, and scales in the other. Almost everyone knows that it is Justitia, the Roman goddess of justice. Her eyes are blindfolded in order to judge impartially, objectively, not seeing who is being judged, merciless to anyone, measuring guilt on the scales and punishing the culprit with the two-bladed sword. It stands proudly and fiercely at the entrance of almost every court or ministry of justice. Since the Roman period, it symbolizes the fundamental maxim – justice is the foundation of the state, the power.

Knowing that justice and righteousness are not always the same, and that very often there are two completely different things, the ancient Greeks had two goddesses, Dike, goddess of righteousness and Themis, goddess of justice. Dika, as a goddess of righteousness, carried scales and laurel wreath, and Themis had all the features of what we know and recognize today in the symbol of the goddess Justitia. Macedonia, as an advanced European country, with an enviable level of autonomy of the judiciary, with recognizable fairness and justice, could not afford to lag behind the imagination of other neighboring countries and their historical achievements, including mythology, so the country invented and settled the Swarovski Justitia, as a symbol of the Swarovski judiciary and justice. Recognizing that justice and righteousness are not always the same, as a symbol of righteousness, we set Kjoseto before the court complex.

Our Justitia wears a veil on only one eye, in one hand there is a sword with a blade on one side, and it is blunt on the other, while in the second hand there are scales that weigh on just one side, because that side is full of Swarovski and a party-membership card. On one side of its face there is a smile, and on the other side of the face is a frown with a malicious gaze.

Kjoseto, as all righteousness, is deadly in its appearance and stare. He is armed with a rifle, a revolver and a knife, with bullets hanging all over his chest, submerged, ready to react immediately when the duke gives his orders.

Who is the author of such symbols of justice and righteousness? Why these specific symbols? Do these symbols reflect the situation in our judiciary?
The answer to the first question, however painful and sad, is more than clear and obvious. We are all authors of such symbols and the conditions in our judiciary. One, the political parties and the court-judicial courtesans actively created this symbol and these conditions in the judiciary by actions that have broken the foundations of the judiciary, which has been building for decades, and only bearing in mind their narrow party or broadly criminal needs and goals. The rest of them watched as the foundations of the judiciary collapsed and battered, mutely silent when all the moral and legal norms were trampled, and when the goddess Justitia was becoming more and more Justitia Swarovski-courtesan. And just like a courtesan, in the true sense of the word, our justice, as a woman with suspicious and low morals, by giving her services to the political powers and tycoons, maintained her social position as an expensive mistress. Only a few had benefit, while the damage was felt by all who were unaware of the far-reaching consequences.

From a judiciary in which the people trusted, and was seen as just and considered as their own and something that is good, a judiciary before which the people appeared seeking justice and fairness, and believed and respected the judgments of the court as a just and permanently determined relationship or dispute, we came to a situation in which the people no longer have any confidence in the judiciary, and most often decide not to exercise their rights in the judicial way. And when they do, they address all institutions outside our country, especially the International Court of Justice in Strasbourg. All polls, debates, protests and disagreements not only the experts, but above all the people are sent at the address of the judiciary, and above all the judiciary as an institution, in which the people do not trust. The demand highlighted in all protests is an essential call against the judiciary and is a requirement for equality before the law without the use of double grounds and selective justice.

In the past 11 years, until the announcement of the so-called “bombs” and the change of power, part of the people, who supported the then-ruling party, knew from time to time, through some of their spokespersons, to defend the judiciary and the situation in the same, but without arguments and clear views, and the same served more as a defense of the ruling party and the policies it was pursuing. But after the change of government and the failure to implement the reforms that were announced and promised out loud, the situation changed drastically, and beside the long-standing critics of the judiciary, the other part of the people who until then defended the then government joined the same criticism and attitudes. In a word, supporters of the current government and supporters of the current opposition are dissatisfied with the situation in the judiciary and strongly criticize the same by perceiving the miserable level on which it stands.

Despite the enormous dissatisfaction and massive mistrust in the judiciary, the strong criticism of the international public and the negative reports of international experts, no serious step has been taken to reform the judiciary. Instead of a serious and dedicated approach to the already diagnosed problems in the judiciary with a sincere effort and effort to cure or at least rectify the adverse conditions to a satisfactory level, the unserious and partial approach to reforms continues, if what is done can be called reform. It is not a reform to change the existing law which is not the cause of the existing problems and conditions, because the law did not apply, but it was illegally interpreted and adapted in its application to the interests of political power and judicial courtesans. Indeed, the international expert public in the reports indicated that we have a very satisfactory legal framework in which we can act in reforming the Swarovski judiciary.

The commitment for a state of law, the equality of citizens before the law and the equal application of it to everyone does not require necessary legal changes on a large scale at this moment, since the existing laws do not discriminate, but they did not apply to everyone the same. It is first necessary to ensure uniform application of the law to everyone and everywhere on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, starting with the powerful in politics and the judiciary, as an example, and a guarantee of a real state of law in action, and not a word. Unless the existing suspicions created by the so-called “bombs” for the holders of high state and public functions are cleared, we will not be able to speak of a law-governed state and the recovery of the legal system. It is even more important to clarify any doubts arising from the various reports or cases concerning the work of the holders of judicial functions, without undue patience, starting with the Judicial Council and the Council of Prosecutors, through the Supreme Court and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, all down to the basic prosecutors and courts, finishing with the Academy. By doing this we will show that we have the strength, knowledge and capacities to heal the judiciary, but it is more important to show that no one is untouchable, and that everyone will be held accountable for what he/she did, regardless of the position or function in the society. Any compromise or closing our eyes before the current situation brings no progress. On the contrary.