On 15 June 2015, the United Kingdom marked the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the Magna Carta Libertatum, one of the most significant legal documents ever written.
“No freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any way harmed, nor will we go upon him nor will we send upon him, except by the legal judgement of his peers or by the law of the land” and ”To none will we sell, to none deny or delay, right or justice” are two of the 63 clauses in the Magna Carta which have also found their way into the Macedonian constitution and other legal documents.
Although the Republic of Macedonia does not have its own declarations of this kind, it is quite apparent that the Magna Carta has had an influence on Macedonian constitutionality. Macedonia is a country which has been determined to join the European Union. Reforms in the area of rule of law, democracy, equal opportunities, and human rights are major areas of focus.
Having this in mind, the Youth Educational Forum implemented the project Dialogue and democracy – the value of Magna Carta for contemporary times supported by the British Embassy Skopje. The projects’ main objectives were to use the Magna Carta as a tool to mobilise the youth population in Macedonia to endorse and defend the rule of law and democratic values, to emphasize the importance of good governance and effective, transparent and accountable institutions, as well as to open and support public debate among the young people on the importance dialogue and transparency.
In October and November, several public lectures for secondary school pupils were held on the following topics: Magna Carta Libertatum; Rule of law, liberalism and democracy, and History and Constitutionalism. Experts in these fields acquainted pupils across the country with the content and meaning of Magna Carta and its influence.
After the lectures, the Youth Educational Forum and the British Embassy in Skopje opened a Magna Carta Essay Competition for secondary school pupils. All secondary school pupils in Macedonia were invited to submit an essay on the following topics:
- Impact of the Magna Carta on the constitutionality worldwide
- An independent judiciary as a prerequisite for the rule of law
- The role of Magna Carta in the development of democracy.
We received 39 essays from all over Macedonia written in Macedonian, Albanian and English. A commission for the ranking of the essays was created in order to determine the winners of the essay contest. This commission, comprised by Embassy representatives, members of the Street law programme in Youth Education Forum and the president of the European Students’ Law Association (ELSA) in Macedonia, declared the following winners:
- Vasko Gichevski in the category: Impact of the Magna Carta on the constitutionality worldwide
- Blerina Azemi in the category: An independent judiciary as a prerequisite for the rule of law
- Bojan Kitanovikj in the category: The role of Magna Carta in the development of democracy.
The final event was the Magna Carta Conference which took place on 11 December 2015 in the Youth Cultural Center – Skopje. About 170 young people attended the conference with three panel discussions with and guest speakers in each panel:
- History and impact of Magna Carta on the constitutionality worldwide
- An independent judiciary as a prerequisite of the rule of law
- Democracy today and the role of Magna Carta in the development of democracy
The winners of the essay competition received prizes from the British Ambassador to Macedonia Charles Garrett and all the participants received certificates for participation.
The whole project was an excellent opportunity for young people to find out and explore the content and the importance of Magna Carta, as well as to understand the importance of rule of law and democratic principles.
Let us hope that Magna Carta will exist for at least another 800 years and serve as an inspiration for furthering civil rights and liberties and as guardian of democracy. It is up to the young people as future world leaders to promote and uphold its principles and values.