Law on Courts Republic of North Macedonia

BASIC PRINCIPLES

Article 1

(1) The judicial power shall be exercised by the courts in the Republic of Macedonia.
(2) The courts shall be autonomous and independent state bodies.

Article 2
(1) The courts shall rule and establish their decisions on the basis of the Constitution, laws and
international agreements ratified in accordance with the Constitution.
(2) In the application of law, the judges shall protect the human freedoms and rights.

Article 3
The goals and functions of the judicial power shall include:
– impartial application of law, regardless of the position and capacity of the parties,
– protection, respect and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
– provision of equity, equality, no discrimination on any ground, and
– provision of legal certainty based on the rule of law.

Article 4
The court shall adjudicate in a procedure prescribed by law:
– on human and citizens’ rights and legal interests,
– on disputes between citizens and other legal entities,
– on crimes and misdemeanors, and
– on other matters that, under law, fall within the competence of the court.

Article 5

(1) The courts shall protect the human and citizens’ freedoms and rights and the rights of the other
legal entities, unless under the Constitution they do not fall within the competence of the
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia.
(2) The citizens and the other legal entities shall be guaranteed judicial protection with regard to the
lawfulness of individual acts of state administrative bodies or organizations and the other bodies
exercising public powers.

Article 6

(1) Everyone shall be entitled to equal access to the courts with regard to protection of their rights
and legal interests.
(2) When deciding about citizens’ rights and obligations and deciding about criminal liability, everyone
shall be entitled to fair and public trial before an independent and impartial court established by law
within a reasonable period of time.
(3) No one can be limited the access to the courts with regard to protection of their fundamental
rights and freedoms due to lack of material assets.

Article 7

The cases that come before the court for decision shall be distributed electronically among the judges
according to the time of receipt of the case in the court, excluding any influence on the manner of
distribution by the president of the court, the judge or the court administration, through the
automated computer system for court cases management, in accordance with the law.

Article 8

(1) The court shall invoke the lack of jurisdiction only when a law explicitly provides for authority of
another state body to decide on a particular request.
(2) The court cannot reject a request related to the exercise of a particular right by reason of a legal
gap and shall be obliged to decide upon it, by invoking the general principles of law, unless explicitly
prohibited by law.

Article 9

No one shall be immune from the jurisdiction of the court, unless the Constitution and the
international agreements ratified in accordance with the Constitution establish cases of immunity from
the jurisdiction of the court.

Article 10

(1) The procedure before the court shall be regulated by law and shall be based on the following
principles:
– legality and legitimacy,
– equality of parties,
– trial within a reasonable period of time,
– fairness,
– publicity and transparency,
– contradiction,
– two instance procedure,
– sitting in a panel,
– oral hearings,
– directness,
– the right to defense, that is, representation,
– free evaluation of evidence, and
– economy.
(2) The laws on separate procedures shall in detail regulate the principles of the procedures, the
manner of their conducting and the possible exemptions to certain principles.

Law on Courts Republic of North Macedonia