North Macedonia

1. General information 
The Ministry of the Interior is the overall political body responsible for policing tasks.

2. Functions and missions

Under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior, the duties of the Police according to the Law on Police are:

• protection of life, personal safety and property of the citizens;
• protection of freedoms and rights of the human beings and the citizens, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia, the laws and the ratified international agreements;
• prevention of committing crimes and misdemeanours, detection and apprehension of the perpetrators of crimes and undertaking other specific measures, stipulated by law, for prosecution of the perpetrators of such crimes;
• maintaining the public order and peace;
• regulation and control of the traffic;
• control of the movement and residence of foreigners;
• state border security and state border crossing control;
• providing assistance and protection to the citizens in case of utmost necessity;
• protection of specific persons and facilities and
• other affairs determined by law.

3. Staff data 
Total number of staff currently is 12 361 (1825 women), of which 9 907 (720 women) are police officers. According to the latest Law on Internal Affairs the number of police officer will be significantly reduced during the year of 2011.

4. Education / Training 
The Training Centre, under the administration of the Ministry of the Interior offers different types of police training, such as: Basic Police Training for beginners in duration of 12 months; Continuing - Specialized Training for in-service police officers; Management Training for decision makers within the police service and Regional Training about Organized Crime for police officers from South-Eastern Europe.

Additionally, in the frames of the University, there is a Faculty on Security, under the administration of the Ministry of Education, which offers a 4-year study program, Master and PhD to regular students, i.e. not solely for police officers.

5. Oversight 
Internal oversight is performed by the Sector for internal control and professional standards within the Ministry of the Interior. Various bodies perform external oversight functions, such as the National Parliament, the Ombudsman, the Public Prosecution Office and the competent courts.

1. General information
The courts exercise the judicial power in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. According to the 2006 Law on Courts (amended in 2008 and 2010) there are 27 courts of first instance, four Appeal Courts, the Administrative Court, the Higher Administrative Court and the Supreme Court.

2. Prosecution
According to the law, criminal investigations may be initiated by a investigative judge when there is a justifiable suspicion that a crime has been committed. If the investigating judge needs assistance from the police (criminological, technical and similar) or from other state agencies in connection with the conduct of the investigation, they are obliged to assist him on his request. The co-operation between the Public Prosecution Office and the Ministry of the Interior is organized by a Memorandum for Co-operation.

According to the Criminal Procedure Law adopted in 2010, which should become enforceable in 2 years, the investigation shall be taken over by the Public Prosecution from the investigative judge and the institution "investigative judge" shall be abolished. The Public Prosecution shall be assisted with judicial police when carrying out criminal investigations.