For the first time since its founding, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Macedonia has established the position of a spokesperson – adviser of the Court for Public Relations. Hristina Belovska, recently recruited, was the rightful person of opportunity and trust.
As an institution that already protects constitutionality, legality, and civil liberties and rights, the Constitutional Court appreciated the sensitized public, divided into opinions about the effectiveness of public relations services in numerous institutions. Part of these debates in the previous years raised questions concerning the qualifications and position of these employees in the institutions, which with their professional activities should contribute to open and transparent governance. For this change in the institution to actually contribute to a more informed society, the Constitutional Court implemented a procedure for selecting qualified staff with high merit and strict criteria.
Following the publication of the work announcement in July 2021, the registered candidates had a professional examination and interview. The judges then unanimously decided that Hristina Belovska was the most qualified and experienced candidate for the role of Court spokesperson.
With ten years of experience as a journalist, Hristina Belovska has covered a variety of topics, including justice, organized crime, corruption, the rule of law in North Macedonia and European law, as well as civil rights and freedoms. She began her career at the student radio station “Student FM”, and her first professional employment was with the national television network “Sitel”.
Then, she continued in the editorial office with “Televizija 24” and “Istrazuvcka reporterska laboratorija (Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL))”. Belovska is one of the eleven journalists who, along with 10 judges, established the Judicial Media Council, which, in terms of competency, is the third in the world and the first in Europe. Belovska served as the vice president of this council throughout her second term, before taking a job position with the Constitutional Court. Within the Judicial Media Council, Hristina Belovska has been engaged as a trainer and lecturer of judges at the journalism school for judges, which strives to improve the transparency of the judiciary and address issues with the public and the media in judicial institutions.
After completing her studies at the “Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law” in Skopje, where she obtained the title of graduate journalist with an average grade of 8.17, Hristina Belovska continued her education with a master’s degree in “Communication and Legal Aspects of the Transparency of the Judiciary in the Republic of North Macedonia” with an average grade of 9.80.
Belovska was an active member of journalistic organizations throughout her career and served on the “SSNM” Executive Board for two terms (Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers).
She took part in a nine-month training for student journalists through the Fulbright programme of the USA, and throughout her studies and employment she participated in numerous trainings on the operation of the legal system, media lobbying, and media literacy. She has also been a certified multimedia journalist from the “Thomson Media” programme.
The Constitutional Court hired some of its employees as advisers over the years for the section on media relations. By employing Hristina Belovska, the Constitutional Court will work to increase transparency, develop a communication strategy, and create professional profiles on social media, and these will serve as platforms where all citizens will get to know the work of the Constitutional Court, and through daily communication, can contribute to absolve the voice of the citizens.