The core of the constitutional provisions is dedicated to a wide list of basic freedoms and rights of the individual and citizen that are grouped in two basic groups. The first group is composed of civil and political freedoms and rights. The second group is composed of economic, social and cultural rights. Foreign subjects enjoy freedoms and rights guaranteed by the Constitution and under conditions regulated by law and international agreements. According to the Constitution, rights and freedoms of the individual and citizen may be limited only in cases determined by the Constitution. Rights and freedoms of the individual and citizen may be limited in situations of state of war and state of emergency, declared in accordance with the Constitution. Limitation of the rights and freedoms may not be discriminatory on the basis gender, race, skin color of , religious fate, national or social origin, property or social status. The right to life, prohibition of any form of torture, inhuman or humiliating conduct or punishment, freedom of personal conviction, conscience, thought, public expression of thought, and freedom of religion may not be limited in any situation. The constitution provides legal guarantees and redress for the violation of the rights and freedoms of the individual and citizen, that effectively includes legal redress before the Constitutional Court, the regular courts and the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Republic of Macedonia has ratified all the major international and regional (the Council of Europe’s) conventions concerning human and minority rights.

The founding principles and characteristics that define theMacedonian statehood are also set in the Constitution. The Republic of Macedonia is defined as a sovereign, independedent, democratic, and social state. The territory of the state is indivisible and inviolable. The sovereignty of the Republic is indivisible, inalienable, and nontransferable.

The state is a unitary republic, in which the sovereignty is derived from the citizens and belongs to the citizens and the right to local selfgovernment is guaranteed. The citizens exercise their authority through democratically elected Deputies, through referendum, and through other forms of direct expression. Citizens of the Republic have citizenship of the Republic of Macedonia, of which they may not be deprived. Furthermore, the citizens may not be expelled or extradited to another state. The political system that is enshrined in the Constitution is a parliamentary democracy founded on the principle of the division of state powers on legislative, executive, and judiciary. The principle of supremacy of the law is in the foundation of the Macedonian State. The Republic of Macedonia is a secular state where all religious communities and groups are separate from the state and equal before the law.

Macedonian state as a sovereign republic within the Federal Yugoslavia" were abandoned and replaced with the terms "citizens of the Republic of Macedonia", "Macedonian nation" and, "citizens who live whitin its borders and are part of the Albanian nation, Turkish nation, Vlach nation, Serbian nation, Roma nation, Bosniak nation and others." Throughout the normative text, the amendments intervened, where relevant, with introduction of the term "communities" and "communities that are not majority in the Republic of Macedonia" to refer to all ethnic communities/groups to which the Macedonian citizens belong . With respect to the official language(s) in the country, the constitutional amendments abandoned the previous solution according to which the Macedonian language, and its Cyrillic alphabet, is the official language in the Republic, and in the units of the local self-government where the majority of the inhabitants belong to one nationality, in addition to the Macedonian language and Cyrillic alphabet, their language and alphabet are also in official use. Instead, with the amendments, the languages that are spoken by 20% of the population are also official, together with their alphabet, not only on the level of local self-government, but also with respect to the personal documents, in communication with the local offices of the ministries and other organs of the central government. The Macedonian language and its alphabet remain to be official language on the whole territory of the Republic and the only official language in international relations. A new fundamental value of the constitutional order is added: adequate and just representation of the citizens belonging to all of the communities in the organs of the state and other public institutions on all levels of governments. The distinct naming of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in the Constitution was abandoned by additional naming of some of the other major religious communities and groups, in particular the Islamic Religious Community, the Catholic Church, the Evangelist-Methodist Church and the Jewish Community. The previous list of the rights of the "communities" (previously, nationalities) with respect to expression and preservation of their identity is widened with the right to use the symbols of their community and the right to establish separate educational institutions in addition to cultural, language, artistic, and scientific institutions and associations. The laws that are directly affecting the culture, the use of languages, education, personal documents, use of symbols, and local self-government are subject to special majority voting of all present members of the Parliament, including the majority of all present members of the Parliament that belong to communities that are not  majority in the Republic of Macedonia. Also, the Public Attorney (Ombudsman) is elected by the Parliament with majority voting not only of the total number of all members of the Parliament, but also with majority voting of the total number of members of the Parliament belonging to communities that are not majority in the Republic of Macedonia. (The same majority is also required when electing three out of seven members of the Judicial Council of the Republic and three out of nine judges in the Constitutional Court). The Public Attorney has also gained new competence – to pay special attention to the principle of non-discrimination, proportionate and just representation of the members of the communities in organs of the central government, local self-government and other public institutions. When naming three members of the Security Council of the Republic, the President of the Republic is obliged to make sure that the composition of the Council reflects the composition of the Macedonian population. The position of the local self-government is also strengthened, and its jurisdiction widened.

The fundamental constitutional value of the division of state powers into legislative, executive, and judicial is embodied through the constitutional provisions regarding the organization of state power and through the constitutional provisions regarding competencies of certain fundamental organs of the state.

The President of the Republic performs the functions of Head of State. He/she represents the Republic and he/she is supreme commander of the

Macedonian military forces. Also, the President presides over the Security Council of the Republic, which also includes the President of the Government, the President of the Parliament, and the ministers of internal affairs, defence, foreign affairs, and justice, and three other members appointed by the President. In accordance with the constitutional amendments of 2001, in appointing three members of the Security Council, the President, overall, must ensure his nominations reflect the composition of the population of

Country. The main objective of the Security Council is to deliberate on issues of great concern for the national security and defense and give proposals to the Government and Parliament thereafter. In accordance with the constitutional amendments of 2001, the President is elected on general and direct elections, by secret ballot for a period of five years. 10,000 citizens or 30 Deputies in the Parliament can nominate candidates for President. Nobody can hold the office of President more than twice. The President must hold Macedonian citizenship, he/she may not be less than 40 years of age on the day of the elections, and he/she must have been living in the Republic of Macedonia more than 10 years in the last 15 years up to the day of the elections. In case of death, resignation, permanent prevention to perform the duties of the office, or termination of the mandate of the President by the force of the Constitution, which is always determined by the Constitutional Court, the function of the President is performed by the President of the Parliament until new President is elected. In addition, the function of the President is performed by the President of the Parliament when the President is prevented to perform his/her duties (temporary absence or prevention), in which situations the President of the Parliament has no right to vote in the Parliament. The office of the President is incompatible with other public functions, professions or functions in a political party. The President enjoys immunity during his/her mandate, which can be lifted only with a two-third majority decision of the Constitutional Court. The President has the following competencies: giving mandate for formation of the Government; appointing and recalling ambassadors or representatives of the Republic abroad; accepting the letters of accreditation and recall of foreign diplomatic representatives; proposing two candidates for judges in the Constitutional Court; proposing two members of the Judicial Council of the Republic; appointing three members of the Security Council of the Republic; appointing and recalling other holders of state and public functions as determined by the Constitution or law; awarding medals and honors in accordance to law; giving pardon in accordance to law; and performing other functions in accordance with the Constitution. The President addresses the Parliament with respect to the issues of his competence at least once a year. The President is held accountable for violations of the Constitution and the laws in performing his competencies. The issue of the President’s accountability may be initiated by the Parliament, with two-third majority of the total number of Deputies, and is decided by the Constitutional Court, with a two-third majority of the total number of judges. If the President is found accountable, his/her mandate as President is terminated by the force of the Constitution. The Government is the main organ of the executive branch of state power. The candidate of a political party or political parties that have the absolute majority in the Parliament forms the Government. The Government and each of its members are accountable to the Parliament, which may take a vote of no-confidence. Moreover, the Government itself has a right to raise the question of confidence or to submit its resignation.

The mandate of the Government also ceases when the Parliament is dissolved. Ministers in the Government may resign or the President of the Government may propose to the Parliament a dismissal of a Minister. The President of the Government and the ministers in the Government may not be Deputies in the Parliament or perform other public functions or professions. The major competencies of the Government are: determination of accountability for the policies of carrying out the laws and other regulations of the Parliament; proposals of laws, budget of the Republic and other regulations that are adopted by the Parliament; adoption of regulations and other acts for the execution of laws; laying down of principles on the internal organization and work of the Ministries and other administrative bodies, and directing and supervising their work; deciding on recognition of other states and governments; establishing diplomatic and consular relations with other states; making decisions on opening diplomatic and consular offices abroad; proposing appointment of ambassadors and representatives of the Republic abroad and appointing chiefs of consular offices; proposing candidates for Public Prosecutor and other holders of public and other offices in accordance with the Constitution and laws, and other duties determined by the Constitution and laws. The state administration consists of ministries and other administrative bodies and organizations as determined by law. Political organization and activities in the state administration are prohibited. Civilians must head the ministries of defense and police, as well as other organs of state administration in these spheres. The state administration must perform its competencies in accordance with the Constitution and the laws, for which it is accountable to the Government.

THE JUDICIARY – According to the Constitution, the judiciary power is exercised by the courts, which are autonomous and independent. The court system has a single organization, with no specialized courts. Emergency courts are prohibited. There are 27 Courts of First Instance, and three Courts of Appeal. The highest court is the Supreme Court of Macedonia. Courts must perform their adjudication function on the basis of the Constitution, the laws and international agreements ratified in accordance with the Constitution. A judge serves without restriction of his/ her term of office and he/she may be removed from office only in cases laid down in the Constitution. Judges enjoy immunity. The performance of the office of a judge is incompatible with other public office, profession or membership in a political party. Political organization and activity in the judiciary is prohibited. The court hearings and passing of verdicts are public, although the public may be excluded in cases determined by law. The courts try cases in chambers and only in cases determined by law. A single judge can try a case. Juries take part in trials in cases as determined by law. Special and independent role in the judiciary is given to the Judicial Council of the Republic, and the Office of the Public Prosecutor.

The Judicial Council of the Republic proposes to the Assembly the election and removal from office of judges in cases laid down by the Constitution, decides on the disciplinary accountability of judges, assesses the competence and ethics of judges in the performance of their office, and proposes two judges in the Constitutional Court of Macedonia. The Judicial Council is composed of seven members that are elected by the Parliament from the ranks of outstanding members of the legal profession for a term of six years with the right to only one reelection.

According to the 14th constitutional amendment of 2001, three members of the Judicial Council are elected with an absolute majority of MPs, including an absolute majority of MPs who belong to the communities that are not a majority in the country. Members of the Judicial Council may not hold other public offices or professions and may not be members of a political party.

The Office of the Public Prosecutor is an autonomous state organ with single organization charged with the function of persecution of persons who have committed criminal and other offences as determined by law and with performing other duties as determined by law. The duties of the Office must be performed in accordance with the Constitution and the laws of the Republic. The Assembly appoints the Public Prosecutor for a term of six years and during his/her term he/she enjoys immunity. The office of Public Prosecutor is incompatible with the performance of any other public office, profession or membership in a political party.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF MACEDONIA – This court is not part of the regular court system of the Republic, but a special organ of the Republic, which is established for the protection of the legal principles of constitutionality and legality. The Constitutional Court competencies include: decisions on the conformity of laws with the Constitution and on the conformity of other regulations and collective agreements with the Constitution and laws; protection of the freedoms and rights of the individual and citizen relating to the freedom of personal conviction, conscience, thought, and public expression of thought, political association and activity, and prohibition of discrimination of citizens on the basis of sex, race, religion, national, social, or political affiliation; decisions on conflicts of competencies between holders of offices in the legislative, executive and judicial branch of state power; decisions on conflicts of competency between the organs of the central government and organs of the units of self-government; decisions on the accountability of the President; decisions on the constitutionality of the programs and statutes of political parties and associations of citizens; and, decisions on other issues as determined by the Constitution. The Court has the power to repeal or invalidate a law if it determines that the law does not conform to the Constitution, as well as power to repeal or invalidate other regulations, collective agreements, statutes, or the program of a political party or association, if it determines that they do not conform to the Constitution or the laws. The decisions of the Court are final and executive. The Court is composed of nine judges, who are elected by the Parliament for a nine year term, without a right to reelection, and enjoy immunity during their term in office. In accordance with the 15th constitutional amendment of 2001, three of the judges are elected with an absolute majority of MPs, including an absolute majority of the MPs who belong to the communities that are not a majority in the country. The judges in the Court must come from the ranks of outstanding members of the legal profession. They may not hold other public office, profession, or membership in a political party and may not be called for military service.

PUBLIC ATTORNEY (OMBUDSMAN) - The office of the Public Attorney protects the constitutional and legal rights of the citizens from violations committed by the organs of state administration and other organs and organizations which have public authority, and it has some new competencies as elaborated in the part about the constitutional amendments of 2001. The Public Attorney is elected by the Assembly for a term of eight years, with a right of one reelection. (For details on the way the Public Attorney is elected, see the part on the constitutional amendments of 2001.)

With the adoption of the Constitution of 1991, the Republic of Macedonia has embarked its transition from an undemocratic to a democratic political system. This democratic transformation represents a process of trial and error, with relatively frequent changes in the electoral system and a lot of dynamics in the party system. The Constitution has set up the general framework for the development of both of these systems. One of the fundamental values of the Macedonian constitutional order is the political pluralism and free, direct and democratic elections. Every citizen acquires the right to vote when reaching 18 years of age. The right to vote is equal, universal and direct, and is exercised at free elections by secret ballot. Only citizens who are deprived from their legal capacity are deprived from the right to vote.

Every citizen has the constitutional right to hold a public office. Citizens may freely establish, join or cease membership in a political party, except citizens who are performing certain public offices, such as judges in the regular courts, judges in the Constitutional Court, public prosecutors, and members of the Judicial Council of the Republic. The monopoly of the Communist Party of Macedonia was terminated and the party pluralism was introduced in June 1990, with the court registration of the political party named Movement for Pan-Macedonian Action (MAAK).

THE POLITICAL PARTIES - According to the Law on Political Parties of 1994, a political party may be founded by at least 500 citizens who hold Macedonian citizenship and have permanent residence in the country. The newly founded political party has an obligation to register in the Court Register of Political Parties at the Court of Appeals in Skopje, within 30 days of the date of its foundation, and thereby start functioning. The programs and the activities of the political parties may not be directed at a violent destruction of the constitutional order of the Republic, or at encouragement or incitement to a military aggression or ethnic, racial or religious hatred or intolerance. Whether that is the case, with respect to the programs, it is decided by the Constitutional Court, and with respect to the activities, it is decided by the competent court of first instance. In the first case, the political party may cease to exist outright, and in the latter case, its further activities may be initially prohibited, although the political party may appeal the decision to a higher court, which, if affirmed, may lead to termination of the political party. So far, there has been only one court refusal to register a political party.

Financing of political parties is regulated by law. The legal sources of party financing are: membership fees, donations, income from party property, loans, gifts, legacy, and the budget of the Republic in accordance to the party results on the last parliamentary elections.

Political parties may not acquire financial resources from international institutions, foreign governments, or other foreign physical or juridical persons. Furthermore, political parties may not acquire financial resources from state organs, organs of the local selfgovernment, or companies that are in state property or in a state of privatization The financial dealings of the political parties are subjected to a financial audit by the competent state organs. Political parties may be organized only territorially. The party system is extremely fragmented. As of 2002, there were 89 registered political parties. Most of these political parties have never been represented in the Parliament. The political parties that are represented in the 2002- 2006 composition of the Parliament are: Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) -43, VMRO-DPMNE -28, Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) -16, Liberal-Democratic Party (LDP) -11, Liberal Party (LP) -5, Party for Democratic Prosperity of the Albanians (DPA) -7, Party for Democratic Prosperity (PDP) -2, Socialist Party of Macedonia -1, Democratic League of the Bosnjaks in Macedonia(DLBM) -1, Democratic Party of the Serbs in Macedonia (DPSM) -1, United Party of the Roma of Macedonia -1, Democratic Party of the Turks of Macedonia (DPTM) -2, National Democratic Party (NDP) -1. There is one independent MP.

Since 1990, the VMRO-DPMNE, the main center-right political party, and SDSM, the main centerleft political party, have proven to be the kingmakers of the Macedonian government. Apart from the ideological criterion, there are political parties organized by either ethnic or religious criterion, which is permitted. For most of the 1990ies, the PDP and DPA used to be the two major political parties of the Albanian community of Macedonia, and ever since 1992, one or both of them have been represented in the Government in continuum. However, the elections of 2002 have marked a sweeping victory of DUI, a brand new political party of the Albanians in Macedonia, winning remarkable 16 seats in the Assembly.

Its success on the elections is widely viewed as direct consequence of the image of the party as a political successor of the paramilitary NLA. In addition, the 2002 elections have marked, for a first time, the entrance of other political parties formed by the smaller ethnic communities in Macedonia. As a result, there are MPs in the Assembly belonging to virtually all ethnic communities living in Macedonia.

THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM – Since the introduction of free and multi-party elections in 1990 the Macedonian parliamentary democracy has tested two types of electoral models. In the 1990 and 1994 parliamentary elections a majoritarian electoral system was implemented. There were 120 electoral districts for election of 120 members of the Parliament. The members of the Parliamentt were regularly elected in the second round of the elections, with a relative majority of the voters. The 1998 parliamentary elections were held in accordance to a new, mixed electoral model. The Parliament continued to be composed of 120 members. However, 85 members were elected in accordance with a majoritarian rule, again with regular election of the members of the Parliament in the second round, with a relative majority. 35 members of the Parliament were elected in accordance with the proportional rule, whereby the Republic was a single electoral district, and with the implementation of the d’Hondt formula for the distribution of the mandates, and with implementation of a 5% electoral threshold. The new Law on election of representatives in the Parliament, adopted in May 2002, has again changed the electoral model. It introduces a pure proportional electoral model, with six electoral districts, each giving 20 mandates in the Parliament, which is still composed of 120 members. The main electoral organs are the State Electoral Commission, six regional electoral commissions, and numerous electoral commissions affiliated with each of the voting units. The State Electoral Commission is composed of nine members, out of which four are judges in the Supreme Court, two are nominated by the two main political parties that are in power, two are nominated by the two main political parties that are in opposition, and one that is nominated by the President of the Republic and may come from the rank of judges of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, or distinguished lawyers. In each of the four parliamentary elections so far (1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002), the voters’ turnout has been constantly high, though lower in the second rounds, the lowest being 57%. At the elections in 2002, which had only one election round, the turnout was 73,4% .

The Republic of Macedonia has a civil law type of a legal system, and thus belongs to the continental European countries that are following the great traditions of the Roman Law. The county has a written constitution, and all the laws must be in accordance with the Constitution, and all the other legal acts must be in accordance with the Constitution and the laws. The international agreements that are ratified in accordance with the Constitution are part of the internal legal system of the country, and can not be amended by law. The Republic also respects the generally accepted norms of the international law. The rule of law is a fundamental value of the constitutional order. Everybody must respect the Constitution and the laws, and all citizens are equal before the laws. The legal principles of constitutionality and legality in abstracto (with respect to general legal acts) are protected by the Constitutional Court, and, in concreto (implementation of the general legal acts to individual cases), by the regular courts. The laws are the core legal act in the legal system of the Republic by which all the major areas of social activity are regulated. The Constitution dictates that all laws must be construed around the paramount need to respect the constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms of the individual and the citizen, and consequently, anything that is not prohibited, according to the Constitution is allowed. With respect to the legal traditions followed, the content of the laws has always been influenced by the legal systems of the continental, western European legal systems, most notably, the ones of France and Germany, especially in the area of criminal and civil law.

Nowadays, each new law is prepared and adopted with consideration of the legal standards of the Council of Europe and the European Union. In particular, special efforts are made to approximate the laws with the relevant legal instruments of the EU. Each member of the Parliament, the Government, and at least 10,000 citizens may give formal proposals for adoption of a new law. Each citizen, group of citizens, institution or association may submit initiative for adoption of laws to these holders of the formal legislative proposal power. The laws, as well as the other legal acts, must be published before entering into force in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, seven days after their adoption at latest. After adoption, laws must be proclaimed by decree that is signed both by the President of the Parliament and the President of the Republic. The latter has a right not to sign the decree of proclamation of the law (right of suspensive veto), which triggers a new deliberation over the law in the Parliament.

If the Parliament adopts the law again with an absolute majority of the total number of its members, the President of the Republic must sign the decree. In cases of laws that are adopted by the Parliament with a two-third majority of its total number of members, the President of the Republic must sign the decree. The laws, in principle, enter into force, at the earliest, 8 days after their publication, and, in extraordinary cases determined by the Parliament, they may enter into force on the day of their publication. The laws, as well as the other legal acts, may not have a retroactive legal effect, except in extraordinary cases, and only when the retroactivity benefits the citizens that are affected. The Parliament adopts other acts with legal nature and legal effect, such as decisions, the budget, the final account of the budget, etc. The main legal acts adopted by the Government are decisions (for example, on recognition of other states and governments, on opening diplomatic and consular offices in other countries, etc.), regulations, and other acts (most notably directives) for implementation of laws adopted by the Parliament. In cases of state of war or state of emergency, and only while they last, the Government may adopt the so-called regulations with a force of law (regulation-law), by which, the Government takes over the legislative function from the Parliament. The courts implement the laws by two main legal acts-verdicts and decisions. These court legal acts are not formal source of law, though, when adopted by higher courts (courts of appeals and the Supreme Court) they do influence the way the laws are implemented by the lower courts and secure unified approach to the implementation and interpretation of laws. The opinions and conclusions with respect to the implementation of the laws adopted on joint sessions of adopted in the first instance by the courts, the state administrative organs and institutions, as well as other organizations with public authority, may be appealed by those affected. All individual legal acts must state their legal basis and instruct the addressee with respect to the further legal recourse and remedies that are available to him/her. The proposals and the adoption of all general legal acts, before and after adoption, must be accompanied with an elaboration with respect to its legal basis, justification and purpose.