In Article 50, the Constitution provides that: “Every citizen can call upon protection of the freedoms and rights established by the Constitution before the courts and before the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Macedonia in a procedure based on the principles of priority and urgency. A judicial protection of the legality of individual acts of state administration and other institutions exercising public authority is guaranteed. The citizen has the right to be familiarized with human rights and basic freedoms and to actively contribute, individually or with others for their development and protection. “
Further, Article 110 paragraph 3 provides that the Constitutional Court as a body of the Republic which protects the constitutionality and legality is competent to “protect the freedoms and rights of man and citizen concerning the freedom of belief, conscience, thought and public expression of thought, political association and action and the prohibition of discrimination against citizens on the grounds of gender, race, religion, national, social and political affiliation”.
In Rules of Procedure of the Constitutional Court, Article 51 states that every citizen who thinks that his/her right or freedom has been violated by an individual act or action, determined by Article 110 line 3 of the Constitution, can request protection from the Constitutional Court within 2 months from the day of submission of the final or valid individual act, that is, from the day of finding out about the action with which the violation was committed, but not later than 5 years from the day of its undertaking.
It is necessary to state the reasons for which protection is requested in the claim, the acts or actions with which they are violated, the facts and evidence on which the claim is based on, as well as other data needed for the decision of the Constitutional Court.
*protection of human rights before the Constitutional Court as well as protection of the freedoms and rights before the competent courts through guarantee of a judicial protection of the legality of individual acts of state administration and other institutions exercising public authority.
In accordance with Article 77 of the Constitution: “The Ombudsman protects the constitutional and legal rights of citizens when they are violated by state administration bodies and other bodies and organizations that have public authorization. The Ombudsman protects the constitutional and legal rights of citizens that are violated by state administration bodies and other bodies and organizations that have public authorization. The Ombudsman pays special attention to the protection of the principles of non-discrimination and adequate and equitable representation of the members of the communities in the bodies of the state government, bodies of local self-government units and in public institutions and services.”
The Ombudsman takes action with the aim to promote human freedoms and rights, which can be conducted through appropriate research in the field of human rights and freedoms, campaigns and different forms of strengthening awareness and education among the general public, as well as joint promotional activities in cooperation with the civil society sector, international organizations and the academic public.
In accordance with Article 13 of the Law on the Ombudsman, the procedure for protection of the constitutional and legal rights of citizens before the Ombudsman is initiated by submitting a complaint.
Any person can file a complaint to the Ombudsman when it is assessed that his/her constitutional and legal rights have been violated or when the principles of non-discrimination and adequate and equitable representation of the members of the communities.
The Ombudsman my initiate a procedure on his/her own initiative, if it is assessed that the constitutional and legal rights of the citizens are violated.
Discrimination is every differentiation, exclusion, restriction or preference based on a discriminatory basis, by doing or not doing, which aim or result in preventing, restricting, recognizing, enjoying or exercising the rights and freedoms of a particular person or group on an equal basis with others. This encompasses all forms of discrimination including disabling appropriate adaptation and disabling accessibility and availability of infrastructure, goods and services.
The Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination in Article 23 provides: “Persons deemed to have suffered discrimination may lodge a complaint with the Commission, in writing or orally on a transcript, without obligation to pay an administrational fee or other types of fee. “ A person who considers himself discriminated against may be represented by an association, foundation or trade union with prior consent before the Commission.
The complaint should contain the following elements: data on the submitter, data on the person against whom the complaint is filed, the circumstances and facts on which the complaint is based on, data on the legal actions previously submitted by the submitter, if there are any and a signature of the submitter.
Free legal aid is legal aid approved and financed by the state in a manner and under conditions determined by the Law on Free Legal Aid. Free legal aid can be provided in two ways:
Primary legal aid covers:
Free legal aid is approved only for specific types of legal questions that are of special interest of the applicant and which most directly affect his/her material existence such as:
Yes, the Institute for Human Rights provides primary legal aid. If your human rights have been violated, please contact us via the following form.
More information on the free legal aid provided by IHR can be found here.
The Law on Civil Procedure regulates the rules of procedure on the basis of which the court discusses and decides in disputes about the fundamental rights and obligations of man and citizen, about personal and family relations of citizens such as labor, trade, property and other civil disputes, if by law for some of those disputes it is not determined for the court to decide according to the rules of some other procedure.
Any person, who considers that a right that falls within the scope of civil law has been violated, can file a lawsuit before a court of real and competent jurisdiction. The deadlines for filing lawsuits are determined in special laws and depend on determining the basis of the lawsuit.
Various violations of guaranteed rights can be the subject of civil proceedings, such as the following rights:
A criminal procedure is a set of actions taken in order to find the perpetrator of the crime, gathering evidence, their accusation and the actions of the defense until the final verdict and the execution of the sanction.
The subject of criminal proceedings are acts that violate certain human rights and they can be various, such as:
• Violation of the right to life - this category includes crimes against life and body (murder and various classifications of this crime).
• Hate speech - as an act of hatred explicitly provided by the provisions of this Code, is considered a criminal offense against a natural or legal person and related persons or property that has been committed in whole or in part due to a real or presumed (imagined, conceived) characteristic or affiliation of a person related to race, skin color, nationality, ethnic origin, religion or belief, mental or physical disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and political belief.
• Повреда на телесниот и физичкиот интегритет – што подразбира телесна и тешка телесна поврада и слично.
• Violation of bodily and physical integrity - which means bodily and severe bodily injury and similar.
• Violation of the freedoms and rights of man and citizen – in this category are violation of the right to use language and script, unlawful deprivation of liberty, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment and other violations listed in the Criminal Code
• Violation of the right to vote
• Violation of employment rights such as violation and abuse of the right to social security
• Violation of sexual freedom and sexual morality - rape, sexual intercourse with a powerless person, sexual assault on a child under 14 years of age and other crimes.
• Violation of human health rights - transmission of infectious disease and other crimes.
• Violation of the right to property (property)
The Criminal Code contains other criminal acts that violate the freedoms and rights of man and citizen.
In an administrative procedure, the rights and legal interests of natural persons, legal persons and other parties are protected, as well as protection of the public interest, which the ministries, state administration bodies, organizations determined by law, other state bodies, legal persons and natural persons entrusted by law to perform public authorizations, as well as the bodies of the municipality, the city of Skopje and the municipalities in the city of Skopje are obliged to act on, when in the performance of their legal competencies, they act, decide and undertake other administrative actions in administrative matters.
In an administrative procedure, protection of the following rights may be requested, such as:
In an administrative procedure, protection of rights that are regulated by special laws may be requested, for the decision of which the first and second instance bodies as well as the Administrative Court are competent, in accordance with competencies provided in the Law on General Administrative Procedure and the Law on Administrative Disputes.
Human rights-based approach means using human rights in our daily work.
The Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) is the most far-reaching attempt to integrate human rights into the development concepts of organizations, government institutions, and companies. At its core is the need to change the paradigm - from compassion for needs, to the obligation to exercise rights. The HRBA should be seen as a conceptual framework for human development, based on international human rights standards and operationally aimed at promoting and protecting human rights.
The HRBA is based on international human rights standards, which in turn derive from the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the nine key UN human rights instruments and their protocols [1]. HRBA is a framework that incorporates the norms, standards, principles, and objectives of these instruments into a system of planning and processing the various development goals of an organization / state. The HRBA aims to promote and protect human rights in order to address the essential inequalities at the heart of developmental problems, as well as to compensate for the damage caused by various discriminatory practices and improper distribution of power.
In this way, HRBA offers new perspectives, ways, and tools to address existing developmental problems: for example, this approach recognizes poverty as an injustice and includes discrimination, marginalization, and exploitation as its underlying causes. In this concept, the terms poverty and injustice are understood as structural consequences unlike individual conditions. In 2001, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights defined poverty as "a human condition characterized by permanent or chronic deprivation of resources, opportunities, choice, security and power, which are necessary to enjoy an adequate standard of living and other civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights." Here, poverty is perceived as a very complex situation, which is the result of multiple restrictions that strengthen each other and which results in a lack or disruption of the fundamental freedoms. All of this affects a person's ability to claim and exercise their rights.
The central points of the HRBA are the identification of the causes for non-realization of the rights, encouraging the rights holders to claim them, as well as enabling the duty holders to fulfil their obligations. This distinction between "rights holders " and "duty holders" is based on two facts: each person is a right holder and every human right has a respective duty holder. Each rights holder:
Consequently, the duty holders are those who have the obligation to respect, protect and realize the rights of the right holders. The entire responsibility for fulfilling the obligations arising from human rights lies with the state, as a sum of all legal duty holders. (Kirkemann Boesen & Martin, 2007)
[1] For more on the international legal framework for human rights, see the Handbook on the Application of the Human Rights-Based Approach - Information and Guidelines for the Integration of the Human Rights-Based Approach to the Work of Civil Society Organizations, Chapter 2, Institute for Human Rights
Although there is no universal way to implement HRBA, this approach has 3 attributes that reflect its essence (http://hrbaportal.undg.org/faq):
With all this in mind, HRBA does not offer solutions on an individual level, but a comprehensive, well-designed, structured and planned approach to their systemic solution. HRBA is a method used in all stages of process planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Its purpose is to ensure that all strategies, programs, plans and laws enacted by a particular institution are aimed at promoting human rights.
International human rights instruments contain human rights standards. They cover all the articles of the international agreements, as well as the comments of the UN contracting authorities. All norms in these instruments make up the minimum legally binding level of rights and obligations for which the duty holders are responsible.
The aim of the HRBA is to operationalize international standards and principles, as well as to make each policy and program making process in line with the spirit in which they are written. |
In essence, there are six human rights principles that the HRBA mainstreams through the programming of a particular institution, organization, or company. These principles represent the normative evolution of human rights and guide the promotion, protection and realization of human rights through programming processes.
Content oriented principles |
Process oriented principles |
Universality and inalienability Indivisibility Interdependence and interconnection |
Participation and inclusion Accountability and rule of law Non-discrimination and equality |
Every man, woman and child anywhere in the world is a human rights holder because he or she is a human being. Human rights cannot be taken away.
From the perspective of policy or programs making, this principle should ensure that no group of people is excluded from the decision-making processes (marginalized groups, children, women, people with disabilities, etc.). This is also true even in cases when there is lack of resources to include all relevant groups given in the example.
Human rights are inherent in and derive from the dignity of every human being. They are all equally important.
The key question for this principle when using HRBA is whether some rights are perceived as more important than others, to the detriment of the enjoyment of the latter (for example, whether civil and political rights are respected at the same level as economic, social and cultural rights). This is often the case, especially in areas where poverty is prevalent. When creating and implementing policies and programs, care should be taken to avoid such "prioritization of rights" and to avoid activities that will contribute to it - in the long run this undermines the sustainability of results and provides fertile ground for repeating the same conditions and cycles that we want to address with the specific intervention.
The exercise of a right often depends in whole or in part on the exercise of other rights.
The existence of cross-sectoral partnerships makes policies and programs more successful and contributes to long-term sustainability of results. This applies not only to the various sectors that are part of the central and / or local authorities, but also to the full and complete involvement in the decision-making processes of the civil and business sector, to the rights holders themselves (especially the marginalized and excluded), and of other relevant non-state stakeholders.
From the point of view of policy and programs making, the use of this principle ensures that ownership over development processes is shared equally among all stakeholders. This applies to all stages of the process (evaluation and analysis, design, implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation), not just to the end result. To this end, these processes should be truly participatory, i.e. "active, free and significant". Policies and programs should encourage and truly involve the most marginalized citizens and groups, should incorporate and articulate their expectations from the duty holders, as well as encourage them to take their own development into their own hands (OHCHR, 2006, p. 26).
States and other duty holders are accountable for the exercise of human rights.
In practice, accountability systems clearly share roles and responsibilities in policy and program making processes; ensure transparent decision-making processes and criteria; provide free and full access to information; and include effective mechanisms that ensure accountability of everyone involved (UNFPA, 2010).
These systems need to be established at different program levels, they need to be implemented, and there should be ways to regress when commitments are not being met. This also means strengthening the capacity of the duty holders to establish these systems[1].
All people are equal regardless of their characteristics. All people enjoy human rights equally. Programming processes must not include only those that are the most easy to reach (for example, if we do not have access to adequate accessible rooms for people with disabilities - we will not even include them), because the power imbalance will increase. Also, unintentional discrimination in the processes must be avoided (for example, if we have stakeholders who need to come from more distant places, we need to adjust to their needs for transport, accommodation, etc.). Dedicating time to anticipating the different needs of different groups will help reduce their exclusion, and thus will strengthen the results. The duty holders without hesitation should stand out and openly communicate with the rights holders regarding the special needs on an individual and collective level.
Developmental concepts incorporate HRBA as their essential part. The HRBA defines and directs the development concepts and processes towards the essential realization of the human rights of all groups, in line with the international human rights standards and principles. The use of HRBA in these concepts and processes is justified by the fact that it is morally and legally the right approach, and it leads to better and more sustainable results of human development. It is these results that emphasize the added values that HRBA brings.
The basic added value of HRBA consists in its objectively formulated ways of measuring and in the legal concepts based on internationally agreed human rights norms and standards, to integrate, monitor and evaluate the realization of human rights, and thus to enable the policy makers have specific activity checklists (Darou & Thomas, 2005).
The HRBA defines that no country can achieve sustainable development without recognizing the human rights principles as essential principles in government, regardless of whether and to what extent it has accepted and implemented international human rights standards. The HRBA guided programs and policies have a holistic approach to achieving the goals. In addition to local and national authorities, through the use of a holistic approach, they include families, communities, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders. Also, they are not limited to legal dimensions and frameworks, but also take into account social, political and economic dimensions.
A very important element of added value is the connection that HRBA makes with international human rights instruments and national policies and programs. The HRBA brings international instruments closer to the national level by incorporating human rights standards into every policy and program. In this way, internationally agreed goals, norms and standards are transformed into national results, for the verification of which, on the other hand, countries develop SMART indicators.
The participatory processes that HRBA incorporates in the design, adoption, implementation, monitoring and reporting of various policies and programs require accountability from the duty holders. In other words, this approach predicts an agreement between those whose rights have been violated and those who have a duty to react and ensure the exercise of those rights. Furthermore, in this way, the HRBA enables a transparent and accountable formulation of policies, programs, legislation and budgets aimed at realization of a specific human right. The HRBA encourages citizens and communities to request accountability from the duty holders in cases where their rights are violated.
The HRBA embodies international human rights standards in one equation – 3AQ.
HRBA = 3 АQ (availability, accessibility, acceptability и quality) |
This means that states must ensure that all human rights are enjoyed in a way that is accessible and available to rights holders, and that this way should be acceptable for them. Finally, the level of quality of human rights enjoyment should be appropriately high and ensured for all rights holders equally. The HRBA includes this equation in every stage of policy design and implementation and allows it to be used for evaluating the realization of the right.
The use of HRBA also contributes to the monitoring of commitments undertaken by the state by ratification of international human rights instruments. This is especially applicable given that the recommendations of the contracting authorities, the alternative reports from the civil society and other actors, as well as the independent performance appraisals of the state - all use this approach.
Finally, HRBA leads to greater sustainability of the achieved results: it contains activities for building the capacities of the key stakeholders (for initiating and engaging in dialogue, for fulfilling the duties and for seeking accountability from the duty holders); strengthens social cohesion by essentially involving marginalized and excluded groups; builds in human rights in legislation, policies, mechanisms, infrastructure and institutions; harmonizes national policies and programs with the commitments undertaken by international instruments; and institutionalizes democratic processes.
Human Rights Careers (HRC) makes human rights careers more accessible through dissemination of information about free online courses, entry level jobs, paid internships, masters degrees, scholarships and other career related information. HRC offers human rights courses from Harvard University, Stanford University, Université catholique de Louvain, Amnesty International, Curtin University, Columbia University, Colorado State univerity, University of Geneva and Utrecht University.
The courses offered by HRC cover children's rights, women's rights, international human rights law, rights of refugees, digital security and human rights, human rights advocacy and many more.
You can find their courses here.
Every course on Coursera is taught by top instructors from world-class universities and companies, so you can learn something new anytime, anywhere. Hundreds of free courses give you access to on-demand video lectures, homework exercises, and community discussion forums.
On Coursera you can find a wide range of human rights courses starting from international human rights law to more practical courses such as how to become a change-maker, public health, and conflict resolution skills.
You can find their courses here.
edX is the trusted platform for education and learning. Founded by Harvard and MIT, edX is home to more than 20 million learners, the majority of top-ranked universities in the world and industry-leading companies.
edX offers courses from Harvard University, Columbia University, Amnesty International and SDG Academy.
They have courses on children's rights, rights of refugees, poverty, freedom of expression and humanitarian response to conflict and disaster.
You can find their courses here.
The Global Campus of Human Rights is a global network of universities for education in human rights and democracy supported by the EU. They strive to promote human rights and democratization through higher education, specialized training programs, research and outreach. They do it worldwide through their broad network of member universities.
The Global Campus of Human Rights strives to create open online Courses devoted to human rights issues that are either topical or underrepresented.
You can find their courses here.
My Mooc is an online learning platform format which allows you to access the knowledge delivered by the most prestigious institutions around the world.
If you are looking for human rights courses, they have gathered all the important online courses related to this topic on their page. You will find courses on refugee law, civil liberties, international law. Designed by experienced law teachers, these courses will allow you to perfect your knowledge in this field. At the end of each training, you will receive a certificate from a prestigious university or a renowned organization.
You can find their page here.
iversity is an online learning platform for higher education and professional development courses provided by experts from all over Europe.
They offer a course on “Human Rights: Global & Local Protection” by the University of Padova.
You can find the course here.
The Council of Europe is the continent's leading human rights organization. It includes 47 member states, 27 of which are members of the European Union. All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
The main objective of the Council of Europe Programme on Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) is to enhance the capacity of judges, lawyers and prosecutors, in all 47 Council of Europe member states and beyond, to apply the European human rights standards in their daily work. This is done through the HELP online courses that cover a range of human rights topics.
You can find their courses here.
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) provides innovative learning solutions to individuals, organizations and institutions to enhance global decision-making and support country-level action for shaping a better future.
UNITAR offers courses that run throughout the year or several times a year that are free-of-charge and open to the public.
You can find their courses here.
Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who are campaigning for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.
Here you can find 6 free online courses to learn more about human rights.
Позитивното право на Република Северна Македонија предвидува повеќе начини за заштита на човековите права утврдени со Уставот како највисок нормативен акт во Републиката како и со останатите закони кои ја тангираат заштитата на човековите права.
Заштита на човековите слободи и права пред Уставниот суд и пред редовните судови
1. Уставот, во член 50 предвидува дека: „Секој граѓанин може да се повика на заштита на слободите и правата утврдени со Уставот пред судовите и пред Уставниот суд на Република Македонија во постапка заснована врз начелата на приоритет и итност. Се гарантира судска заштита на законитоста на поединечните акти на државната управа и на другите институции што вршат јавни овластувања. Граѓанинот има право да биде запознат со човековите права и основни слободи и активно да придонесува, поединечно или заедно со други за нивно унапредување и заштита”. Понатаму, член 110 ст.3 предвидува дека Уставниот суд како орган на Републиката кој ја штити уставноста и законитоста надлежен е „да ги штити слободите и правата на човекот и граѓанинот што се однесуваат на слободата на уверувањето, совеста, мислата и јавното изразување на мислата, политичкото здружување и дејствување и забраната на дискриминација на граѓаните по основ на пол, раса, верска, национална, социјална и политичка припадност”. Деловникот на Уставниот суд во член 51 наведува дека секој граѓанин што смета дека со поединечен акт или дејство му е повредено право или слобода утврдени со член 110 алинеја 3 од Уставот, може да бара заштита од Уставниот суд во рок од 2 месеци од денот на доставувањето на конечен или правосилен поединечен акт, односно од денот на дознавањето за преземање дејство со кое е сторена повредата, но не подоцна од 5 години од денот на неговото преземање. Во барањето потребно е да се наведат причините поради кои се бара заштита, актите или дејствата со кои тие се повредени, фактите и доказите на кои се заснова барањето, како и други податоци потребни за одлучувањето на Уставниот суд. * заштита на човековите права пред Уставниот суд како и заштита на слободите и правата пред надлежните судови преку гарантирање на судска заштита на законитоста на поединечни акти на државната управа и на другите институции кои вршат јавни овластувања. Заштита на човековите слободи и права пред Народниот правобранител
2. Согласно член 77 од Уставот: „Народниот правобранител ги штити уставните и законските права на граѓаните кога им се повредени од органите на државната управа и од други органи и организации што имаат јавни овластувања. Народниот правобранител ги штити уставните и законските права на граѓаните што им се повредени од органите на државната управа и од други органи и организации што имаат јавни овластувања. Народниот правобранител посветува особено внимание за заштита на начелата на недискриминација соодветна и правична застапеност на припадниците на заедниците во органите на државната власт, органите на единиците на локалната самоуправа и во јавните установи и служби”. Народниот правобранител презема активности со цел промовирање на човековите слободи и права, кои може да се спроведат преку соодветни истражувања од доменот на човековите слободи и права, кампањи и различни форми за јакнење на свеста и едукацијата кај пошироката јавност, како и заеднички промотивни активности во соработка со граѓанскиот сектор, меѓународните организации и академската јавност. Согласно член 13 од Законот за Народен правобранител, постапката за заштита на уставните и законските права на граѓаните пред народниот правобранител се покренува со поднесување претставка. Секое лице може да поднесе претставка до Народниот правобранител кога ќе оцени дека му се повредени уставните и законските права или кога се повредени начелата на недискриминација и соодветна и правична застапеност на припадниците на заедниците. Народниот правобранител може да покрене постапка и по сопствена иницијатива, доколку оцени дека на граѓаните им се повредени уставните и законските права.
Заштита од дискриминација пред Комисијата за спречување и заштита од дискриминација Дискриминација е секое разликување, исклучување, ограничување или давање првенство што се заснова на дискриминаторска основа, со сторување или несторување, што имаат за цел или резултат спречување, ограничување, признавање, уживање или остварување на правата и слободите на одредено лице или група на еднаква основа со други. Ова ги опфаќа сите форми на дискриминација вклучително и оневозможување на соодветно приспособување и оневозможување на пристапност и достапност на инфраструктурата, добрата и услугите. Законот за спречување и заштита од дискриминација во член 23 предвидува: „лицата кои сметаат дека претрпеле дискриминација можат да поднесат претставка до Комисијата, писмено или усно на записник, без обврска за плаќање такса и друг надоместок”. Лицето кое смета дека е дискриминирано пред Комисијата може да биде застапувано од страна на здружение, фондација или синдикат со претходно дадена согласност. Претставката треба да ги содржи следниве елементи: податоци за подносителот, податоци за лицето против кого се поднесува претставката, околностите и фактите врз кои се темели претставката, податоци за правните дејства што претходно ги вложил подносителот, доколку ги има и потпис на подносителот.
Заштитата на правото на еднаков третман по основ на пол Согласно Законот за еднакви можности на жените и мажите, заштитата на правото на еднаков третман по основ на пол се остварува со поднесување на претставка до застапник согласно со Законот за еднакви можности на жените и мажите, до Народниот правобранител, Комисијата за заштита од дискриминација и до надлежен суд.
Остварување на правото на пристап до правда и правична судска заштита Законот за бесплатна правна помош им овозможува на физички лица пристап до правда и правична судска заштита. Бесплатната правна помош може да биде дадена како примарна правна помош и секундарна правна помош. Примарна правна помош се дава од страна на овластено службено лице на Министерството за правда, овластено здружение на граѓани и правна клиника и истата опфаќа:
Позитивното право на Република Северна Македонија предвидува повеќе начини за заштита на човековите права утврдени со Уставот како највисок нормативен акт во Републиката како и со останатите закони кои ја тангираат заштитата на човековите права.
Заштита на човековите слободи и права пред Уставниот суд и пред редовните судови
1. Уставот, во член 50 предвидува дека: „Секој граѓанин може да се повика на заштита на слободите и правата утврдени со Уставот пред судовите и пред Уставниот суд на Република Македонија во постапка заснована врз начелата на приоритет и итност. Се гарантира судска заштита на законитоста на поединечните акти на државната управа и на другите институции што вршат јавни овластувања. Граѓанинот има право да биде запознат со човековите права и основни слободи и активно да придонесува, поединечно или заедно со други за нивно унапредување и заштита”. Понатаму, член 110 ст.3 предвидува дека Уставниот суд како орган на Републиката кој ја штити уставноста и законитоста надлежен е „да ги штити слободите и правата на човекот и граѓанинот што се однесуваат на слободата на уверувањето, совеста, мислата и јавното изразување на мислата, политичкото здружување и дејствување и забраната на дискриминација на граѓаните по основ на пол, раса, верска, национална, социјална и политичка припадност”. Деловникот на Уставниот суд во член 51 наведува дека секој граѓанин што смета дека со поединечен акт или дејство му е повредено право или слобода утврдени со член 110 алинеја 3 од Уставот, може да бара заштита од Уставниот суд во рок од 2 месеци од денот на доставувањето на конечен или правосилен поединечен акт, односно од денот на дознавањето за преземање дејство со кое е сторена повредата, но не подоцна од 5 години од денот на неговото преземање. Во барањето потребно е да се наведат причините поради кои се бара заштита, актите или дејствата со кои тие се повредени, фактите и доказите на кои се заснова барањето, како и други податоци потребни за одлучувањето на Уставниот суд. * заштита на човековите права пред Уставниот суд како и заштита на слободите и правата пред надлежните судови преку гарантирање на судска заштита на законитоста на поединечни акти на државната управа и на другите институции кои вршат јавни овластувања. Заштита на човековите слободи и права пред Народниот правобранител
2. Согласно член 77 од Уставот: „Народниот правобранител ги штити уставните и законските права на граѓаните кога им се повредени од органите на државната управа и од други органи и организации што имаат јавни овластувања. Народниот правобранител ги штити уставните и законските права на граѓаните што им се повредени од органите на државната управа и од други органи и организации што имаат јавни овластувања. Народниот правобранител посветува особено внимание за заштита на начелата на недискриминација соодветна и правична застапеност на припадниците на заедниците во органите на државната власт, органите на единиците на локалната самоуправа и во јавните установи и служби”. Народниот правобранител презема активности со цел промовирање на човековите слободи и права, кои може да се спроведат преку соодветни истражувања од доменот на човековите слободи и права, кампањи и различни форми за јакнење на свеста и едукацијата кај пошироката јавност, како и заеднички промотивни активности во соработка со граѓанскиот сектор, меѓународните организации и академската јавност. Согласно член 13 од Законот за Народен правобранител, постапката за заштита на уставните и законските права на граѓаните пред народниот правобранител се покренува со поднесување претставка. Секое лице може да поднесе претставка до Народниот правобранител кога ќе оцени дека му се повредени уставните и законските права или кога се повредени начелата на недискриминација и соодветна и правична застапеност на припадниците на заедниците. Народниот правобранител може да покрене постапка и по сопствена иницијатива, доколку оцени дека на граѓаните им се повредени уставните и законските права.
Заштита од дискриминација пред Комисијата за спречување и заштита од дискриминација Дискриминација е секое разликување, исклучување, ограничување или давање првенство што се заснова на дискриминаторска основа, со сторување или несторување, што имаат за цел или резултат спречување, ограничување, признавање, уживање или остварување на правата и слободите на одредено лице или група на еднаква основа со други. Ова ги опфаќа сите форми на дискриминација вклучително и оневозможување на соодветно приспособување и оневозможување на пристапност и достапност на инфраструктурата, добрата и услугите. Законот за спречување и заштита од дискриминација во член 23 предвидува: „лицата кои сметаат дека претрпеле дискриминација можат да поднесат претставка до Комисијата, писмено или усно на записник, без обврска за плаќање такса и друг надоместок”. Лицето кое смета дека е дискриминирано пред Комисијата може да биде застапувано од страна на здружение, фондација или синдикат со претходно дадена согласност. Претставката треба да ги содржи следниве елементи: податоци за подносителот, податоци за лицето против кого се поднесува претставката, околностите и фактите врз кои се темели претставката, податоци за правните дејства што претходно ги вложил подносителот, доколку ги има и потпис на подносителот.
Заштитата на правото на еднаков третман по основ на пол Согласно Законот за еднакви можности на жените и мажите, заштитата на правото на еднаков третман по основ на пол се остварува со поднесување на претставка до застапник согласно со Законот за еднакви можности на жените и мажите, до Народниот правобранител, Комисијата за заштита од дискриминација и до надлежен суд.
Остварување на правото на пристап до правда и правична судска заштита Законот за бесплатна правна помош им овозможува на физички лица пристап до правда и правична судска заштита. Бесплатната правна помош може да биде дадена како примарна правна помош и секундарна правна помош. Примарна правна помош се дава од страна на овластено службено лице на Министерството за правда, овластено здружение на граѓани и правна клиника и истата опфаќа: