“The human right to freedom is irrevocable. No person’s freedom can be restricted except by a court decision or in cases and procedures determined by law” is one of the guarantees of the Macedonian constitution of 1991. Unlike British history, Macedonian history does not have its own historical declarations of human and civil rights, however Macedonian constitutional and legal guarantees as many other democracies draw inspiration in Magna Carta Libertatum.
This year’s 800th anniversary of Magna Carta also inspired the Macedonian Chevening Alumni Association (MCAA) to organise the panel discussion “Conquering civil liberties: From Magna Carta to Carta Macedonia”. The panel, organised in cooperation with the British Embassy in Skopje took place on 22 September 2015.
The panel aimed to bring closer the relevance of Magna Carta to the state of human rights and civil liberties in the modern age, particularly in the context of Macedonia. His Excellency Charles Garrett, British Ambassador to Macedonia and Mr. Adnan Jashari, Minister of Justice of Macedonia, greeted the panel and provided background on the meaning of Magna Carta for Macedonia. A keynote speech entitled “The Value of Magna Carta” was delivered by Mr. Mark Gill, Executive Director of the Magna Carta 800th Committee, who provided historical insights into how Magna Carta developed over centuries and paid special attention to its enduring legacy, as well as how it impacted the shaping of democracy and democratic practices around the world.
Following on from Mr. Gill’s talk, Prof. Gordan Kalajdziev from the Faculty of Law at Ss. Cyril and Methodius University (Skopje) spoke of “The Macedonian Magna Carta of Civil Liberties”, while another Chevening scholar, Mrs. Natasha Gaber-Damjanovska (PhD), Judge in the Constitutional Court of Macedonia, gave a talk entitled “Are the Civil Liberties Protected?”.
The event triggered considerable public interest and was attended by over 50 guests including prominent judges, representatives from political parties, universities, embassies and the civil society. The follow up discussion tackled some very challenging issues regarding the current state of civil liberties in Macedonia and Europe. Furthermore, the general conclusion was that human rights and civil liberties are areas where ongoing efforts are required for their upholding, especially in young democracies as Macedonia.
The panel to mark the anniversary of Magna Carta was the third conference organised by the Macedonian Chevening Alumni Association in the last several years. In this way the Macedonian Chevening community attempts to contribute to the public debate in Macedonia while raising awareness about funding possibilities through this Foreign and Commonwealth Office scholarship scheme.
The Macedonian Chevening Alumni Association is led by enthusiastic Chevening Scholars from the country. Our alumni include leading Macedonian politicians in government and opposition, prominent individuals in banking, civil society, academia, judiciary, art and other sectors of society. Funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship scheme which enables students with leadership qualities from 144 countries and territories to undertake postgraduate study at universities in the United Kingdom.
This text is guest post by Ilina Mangova, expert in democratic governance and public opinion, and Ana Meshkovska, consultant. Both are Chevening scholars and members of Macedonian Chevening Alumni Association.