In order to assess the developments in the domestic judicial case-law and the possible impact of previous capacity building activities the Analysis of the trends in the application of European standards on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists has been produced in the framework of the European Union and Council of Europe Horizontal Facility joint action “Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Media in North Macedonia (JUFREX 2)”. The analysis was conducted in the period between 15 July and 31 October 2022, and it covers the period from 1 January 2016 until 1 June 2022, and it provides a thorough overview of the most relevant cases (160 case files -125 civil cases and 35 criminal cases) handled by the domestic courts in the period under review. Furthermore, it identifies deviations from the well-established European standards and suggests how they could be dealt with in future to achieve full harmonisation of domestic jurisprudence.

Overall, the document at hand provides a solid ground for reinforcing the freedom of expression and media freedoms by facilitating the operation of the judiciary in North Macedonia to ensure more effective practical application of the European standards at domestic level. This publication could also be seen as a roadmap intended both for the national authorities and their international partners and in particular the Council of Europe on what should be done in the future to bolster the implementation of the regional safeguards on freedom of expression in the country.          
 

The analysis is currently available in English language and would be translated and made available in Macedonian language.