The Role of the Constitutional Court in protecting the freedom of expression in the Republic of Macedonia

The main policy problem that will be examined with this research is the (non)functioning of the mechanism of constitutional complaint regarding the freedom of expression in the Republic of Macedonia. This involves presentation of the legal framework and a comparison between this mechanism and cases before the regular courts. The main emphasis is on the current implementation of this policy and the identified shortcomings, accompanied by an analysis of relevant court cases. On the basis of empirical findings, this research provides policy recommendations for advancing the mechanism of constitutional complaint for the protection of the freedom of expression, but the identified shortcomings and recommendations are also relevant regarding the overall functioning of the Constitutional Court. Further improvement of the judicial protection of the freedom of expression is necessary both in order to implement the Urgent Reform Priorities and regarding the crucial Chapter  23. Progress in this area is therefore vital to further progress in the EU accession process.

Read the brief here