General Secretary
Vladimir Panchevski was born on May 1, 1974, in Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, where he still lives and works today. He completed his studies at the “Justinien I” Faculty of Law at the “Saints Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje, graduating in 1996, and passed the bar exam in October 1999. He obtained his master’s degree in May 2014 under Professor Dr. Aleksandra Maksimovska Veljanovski at the Faculty of Law of the “Saints Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje, with a thesis entitled: “Abuses of Public Procurement in the Context of Financial Law Relations.”
He began his legal career immediately after graduation in 1997, as a volunteer at the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office in Skopje, then as an intern and professional associate. At that time, the prosecutors representing the Basic Public Prosecutor’s Office were initially Kosta Petrovski, followed by Georgi Nastevski and Sterjo Zikov. From 2001 to 2003, he worked at the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Macedonia under the Attorney General Stavre Dzikov, within the department of international cooperation. He actively participated in drafting prosecutorial decisions and in reforms of the public prosecutor’s office in collaboration with foreign experts. He also took part in the team responsible for creating a specialized department under the coordination of Attorney General Aleksandar Prchevski, including a visit to the Republic of Slovenia, and participated in numerous international projects combating organized crime and financial fraud. He was seconded from the prosecutor’s office to work with the British expert Nicholas Robson within the framework of the European Commission-funded public prosecutor reform project (CARDS project). He is one of the creators of the first website of the Public Prosecutor’s Office as well as the website of the Association of Public Prosecutors, and contributed to other reforms of the prosecutorial system in cooperation with the OSCE and the European Commission delegation. He is a member of the Association of Public Prosecutors of the Republic of Macedonia and, from 2001 to 2003, was also a member of the International Relations Commission of this association, during which cooperation with the International Association of Prosecutors in The Hague (Netherlands) was strengthened. In 2002, within the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Macedonia, he participated in organizing a regional meeting of Attorneys General from Southeast European countries in Ohrid, as part of a project preparing legislation on witness protection, organized by the Prosecutor’s Office and the SECI Center in Bucharest (Romania).
In 2003, he joined the newly established Financial Police as one of the first ten inspectors, where he specialized in economic crime with the support of the United States and the European Union, and participated in several trainings under the CARDS regional projects as well as the fiscal reform project of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Macedonia. He is a member of the working group responsible for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law, established by Attorney General Marko Zvrlevski, as well as the working group for amendments to the Penal Code, established by Minister of Justice Mihajlo Manevski.
Vladimir Panchevski is the chairman of the commission responsible for developing the foundations of the Probation Law. He has participated in several twinning projects and study visits in Slovakia and Italy aimed at improving the work of the Financial Police, as well as numerous international conferences, including: the Second European Forum on Access to Justice in Budapest (Hungary) in 2005, and the CARDS regional project for police capacity building in Strasbourg (France) in 2004. In 2004, he served as the representative of the Financial Police of the Republic of Macedonia and as a member of the EUPOL Proxima expert police working group.
In 2008, he was elected investigating judge at the Skopje 1 First Instance Court – Criminal Court. A year later, he became a criminal judge and chairman of a judicial council within the organized crime department.
From December 2012 to December 2016, he served as president of the Skopje 1 First Instance Court – Criminal Court, overseeing a specialized department for judging cases related to organized crime and corruption, with jurisdiction over the entire national territory, where he also served as the head of this department. As part of the organization of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, he participated in the International Leadership Program, visiting institutions in Washington, Sacramento, San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Reno. In 2012, he also participated in an international conference on global security held in New York, USA. During the period 2014–2016, he was a member of the Disciplinary Commission of the Chamber of Bailiffs of the Republic of Macedonia.
After completing his term as president, he continued working as a judge within the specialized department for cases of organized crime and corruption, serving as a preliminary-phase judge and head of the department until 2017, when he was transferred to serve as a judge in misdemeanor cases at the same court until August 2020.
Panchevski also has significant experience outside the courtroom. He has been an active participant and trainer in numerous regional and international trainings, conferences, and study visits, including regional seminars in Strasbourg (France) and Budapest (Hungary), study visits to the United States (Washington, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Sacramento), as well as specialized training in Slovenia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. His professional engagement also includes work with legislative and expert bodies for the preparation and amendment of laws in the fields of financial policing and anti-corruption. For nearly ten years, he was a member of the Commission for amendments to the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Law, established by Minister of Justice Mihajlo Manevski. During 2014–2016, he was a trainer at the Academy of Judges and Prosecutors, whose director was Criminal Court Judge Aneta Arnaudovska. He was also a member of the Bar Examination Commission in the fields of criminal law and criminal procedure, established at the Ministry of Justice by Minister Prof. Dr. Adnan Jashari. From 2012 to 2016, he served as a member of the Judicial Budget Council under the Judicial Council of the Republic of Macedonia, chaired by Judge Aleksandra Zafiroska.
Through his work and life experience, Vladimir Panchevski has made a significant contribution to strengthening the judicial system, modernizing judicial practice, and promoting the rule of law. To date, he is the author and co-author of three specialized electronic publications: Practicum of Criminal Law – CD (2001), Criminal Protection in the Republic of Macedonia, Protection against Corruption and Money Laundering – CD (2005), and Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Macedonia – electronic edition on CD (2002). His most recent works include his professional study entitled The Penal Code, Temporal Application of Penal Provisions, and Application of the More Lenient Law (1996–2026) with Commentary, as well as the book A Judge Facing “Justice”. His work reflects his rich and deep experience in applying criminal law institutions and their evolution through the lens of the state’s institutional and political transition.
Since March 2025, he has been a member of the Institute for Security Development – European Police Agency in Brussels, and since March 2026, he has also served as its Secretary General.
