Documents: Fundamental rights - Human rights - Freedom of thought, conscience and religion

The rule of law principle is one of the core values comprising the foundations of the European Union. It entails that all public powers act within the boundaries set by the law, in accordance with the values of democracy and respect for fundamental rights. While candidate countries must comply with this principle and adapt the functioning of their institutions accordingly, member states of the EU are also not exempt from this obligation, or the consequences arising from non-compliance.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights was formally proclaimed in Nice in December 2000 by the European Parliament, Council and Commission and on 1 December 2009, with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the Charter was given binding legal effect equal to the Treaties. The Charter entrenches all the rights found in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU; the rights and freedoms enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights; other rights and principles resulting from the common, constitutional traditions of EU countries and other international instruments. It creates legal certainty in the EU, by making fundamental rights clearer and more visible.

The right to association and public assembly does not in itself mean only the association of citizens with a physical presence through which they would express dissatisfaction with a certain government decision that affects their rights and interests. In the last few years, there is a trend of increased use of Internet tools through which the citizens of a country can act in the online space just as they would act with a physical presence. In North Macedonia, the trend of using online tools is experiencing its peak with the proclamation of a Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of this Analysis is to summarize the International Legal Framework on the freedom of peaceful assembly in the digital era and to present the state obligations. Also, to research the opportunities and challenges of the assemblies in the digital era and the impact of the new technologies in exercising of the right to free assembly. In the same time to make comparison and research on the concept of digitally-med

This policy brief summarises the main findings and recommendations from the Shadow Report on Chapter 23 for the period from May 2016 to January 2018 prepared by the European Policy Institute-Skopje and the Helsinki Committee for the Human Rights. The reporting includes three distinct periods: - period prior to the early parliamentary elections on 11 December 2016, - transition period after the elections and before the formation of the new Government on 31 May 2017 and - period from the election of the new Government by the end of January 2018. The report presents the key developments in the analysed period and provides policy recommendations in each of the areas of Chapter 23. For a detailed analysis of all areas please see the Shadow Report.

Project “Network 23+” implemented by the European Policy Institute-Skopje and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights aims at providing structured contribution of the civil society in monitoring and assessing the policies included in Chapter 23 of the EU Acquis – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights. This report unifies all the findings, conclusions and recommendations that resulted from the monitoring of the areas structured in Chapter 23 – Judiciary and Fundamental Rights into a single coherent entirety. In fact, this is the third Shadow Report published by “Network 23”. The previous two cover the periods of October 2014-July 2015 and July 2015-April 2016. This report encompasses the period between the beginning of May 2016 and the end of January 2018. The report’s period has been extended in order to correspond to the new cycle of European Commission reports, which are to be released in April.