North Macedonia

Petitioners challenged the constitutionality of the Anti-Smoking Law, alleging that its smoking ban violated a number of protected rights including those of personal autonomy, equal protection, freedom of the market and entrepreneurship, and freedom of movement of smokers.  They also alleged that the law was unconstitutional due to arbitrary and inconsistent provisions and amendments. The Constitutional Court of Macedonia disagreed with these arguments, and found the law constitutional.  It noted that the Macedonian Constitution permits the restrictions of rights for the protection of health, and also cited the right to health as enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the WHO Constitution, and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It also found that there is a a false equivalence between the right to smoke and the rights enshrined in the Constitution, noting that only restrictions imposed on smokers are with respect to the health of other citizens, and no equal protection issues are raised.  The Court affirmed the rights of the legislature to impose and amend restrictions to protect the public health.