CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA AND THEIR FUNCTION IN PROMOTING STABILITY, PEACE AND INTEGRATION
CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA AND THEIR FUNCTION IN PROMOTING STABILITY, PEACE AND INTEGRATION

Summary/Abstract: The rule of law is a durable system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment to some segments of our lives, including but not limited to: foundation for communities of justice, opportunity, and peace-underpinning development, accountable government, and respect for fundamental rights. Some research showed that rule of law and legal stability correlates to higher economic growth, greater peace, less inequality, improved health outcomes, and more education. At the level of Southeast Europe, the development of civil society has included many changes, some evolutionary, some even revolutionary. This, however, is in the spirit of the argument that today those systems that combine procedural stability with substantive flexibility are rightly considered more successful. This paper focuses on the changes to the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia that have aimed to propel the country toward a free and functioning democracy from the time it was a federal unit within the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to now, when it is facing many challenges regarding the application of rule of law, democracy in general and integration into the European Union. Together with its amendments, the Constitution now provides a robust legal framework for the guarantees of a free and fair civil society in North Macedonia. However, as we demonstrate below, the country faces challenges in implementing, applying, and practicing the principles of rule of law and the constitutional guarantees provided in the Constitution.

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