Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law
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Item type:Publication, FROM MANDATORY CONCILIATION TO MANDATORY MEDIATION IN FAMILY DISPUTES INVOLVING CHILDREN NORTH MACEDONIA IN LIGHT OF EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS(Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law, 2026-02)Ignovska ElenaThis article examines the implications of eventual mandatory mediation in family disputes involving children in North Macedonia, assessed against European human rights and children rights standards. It argues that the existing institute of (re)conciliation (мирење) is outdated and fails to meet European requirements. Introducing a mandatory mediation session in such disputes could increase mediation uptake, de-escalate conflicts, and better safeguard children’s interests. However, mandatory mediation also raises concerns regarding voluntariness, access to courts, and procedural fairness. Through a critical review of international human rights treaties and European legal instruments, alongside national regulation, including the Law on Mediation, the Law on the Family, and the family-related provisions of the Draft Civil Code, the article assesses whether mandatory mediation can effectively “revive” mediation while also advancing the best interests of the child and respecting fundamental rights more broadly. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Legal Possition of Vulnarable Adults in the Republic of North Macedonia In-between the Authority of the State and the Family(Faculty of Philosophy – Skopje, 2025)Ignovska ElenaFor a long period, the family laws have been focused on children’s rights, in cluding their right to opinion in matters that concern them. Vulnerable adults have been usually represented by others, while their own autonomy neglect ed. This has changed internationally. Many European family-law scholars con sider the topic of empowerment of vulnerable adults as the most important one in the junction between Family Law and Law on Persons nowadays, espe cially if we have in mind that demographically Europe has an aging popula tion, hence more adults than children. However, there are very scarce discus sions on this topic in the Republic of North Macedonia, where the concepts of deprivation of legal capacity and guardianship are still a threat towards human rights of vulnerable adults. The threat is especially observed towards their equality rights (not to be discriminated against), private and family life rights (the right to make decisions about their own body, medical treatments, reproductive choices, conclusion of marriage, recognition of parenthood etc.), procedural rights (the right to access to court and administrative institutions, the right to express legally valid opinions in such proceedings), political rights (the right to vote) etc. The Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has been signed and ratified by the Republic of North Macedonia, whereas the Hague Conven tion on the International Protection of the Adults has not been signed. The country took serious measures to implement the CRPD. However, there are many complaints by the CRPD Committee and by associations/organizations that protect rights of persons with disabilities about its full implementation, as well as Courts’ decisions confirming discrimination. The objective of this study is to locate possible human rights infringements for vulnerable adults as a matter of policy enshrined in the legal documents and to try to find better solutions for integrating vulnerable adults in the so ciety. The legal position of vulnerable adults in the country will be observed in light of the CRPD and comparatively. The final aim of the study is to shed light on the less represented by themselves and more represented by others in the country and to find modules to improve their legal position in the future. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The Legal Possition of Vulnarable Adults in the Republic of North Macedonia In-between the Authority of the State and the Family(Faculty of Philosophy – Skopje, 2025)Ignovska ElenaFor a long period, the family laws have been focused on children’s rights, including their right to opinion in matters that concern them. Vulnerable adults have been usually represented by others, while their own autonomy neglected. This has changed internationally. Many European family-law scholars consider the topic of empowerment of vulnerable adults as the most important one in the junction between Family Law and Law on Persons nowadays, especially if we have in mind that demographically Europe has an aging population, hence more adults than children. However, there are very scarce discussions on this topic in the Republic of North Macedonia, where the concepts of deprivation of legal capacity and guardianship are still a threat towards human rights of vulnerable adults. The threat is especially observed towards their equality rights (not to be discriminated against), private and family life rights (the right to make decisions about their own body, medical treatments, reproductive choices, conclusion of marriage, recognition of parenthood etc.), procedural rights (the right to access to court and administrative institutions, the right to express legally valid opinions in such proceedings), political rights (the right to vote) etc. The Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has been signed and ratified by the Republic of North Macedonia, whereas the Hague Convention on the International Protection of the Adults has not been signed. The country took serious measures to implement the CRPD. However, there are many complaints by the CRPD Committee and by associations/organizations that protect rights of persons with disabilities about its full implementation, as well as Courts’ decisions confirming discrimination. The objective of this study is to locate possible human rights infringements for vulnerable adults as a matter of policy enshrined in the legal documents and to try to find better solutions for integrating vulnerable adults in the society. The legal position of vulnerable adults in the country will be observed in light of the CRPD and comparatively. The final aim of the study is to shed light on the less represented by themselves and more represented by others in the country and to find modules to improve their legal position in the future. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, THE GUARDIANSHIP IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA. NECESSITY TO TRANSIT FROM SUBSTITUTE DECISION-MAKING FOR THE WARD TO SUPPORTIVE DECISION-MAKING WITH THE WARD(Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law, 2024-12)Ignovska ElenaThe author tackles the topic on guardianship in the intersection between family law and human rights that is very important yet neglected in the Macedonian legal theory and jurisprudence. Namely, the Republic of North Macedonia has ratified the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and has obligations to align its legal system (primarily its Family Law and Law on Non-contentious Procedure, but also other laws) with its spirit. However, it seems as if mental capacity is associated (or at least closely related) with legal capacity and as a result, persons deprived of legal capacity are limited to enjoy and act upon many fundamental rights. The author concludes that the Macedonian legal system is still very paternalistic when it comes to the relationship between vulnerable adults and the persons responsible to protect their interests on their behalf, appointed by the State. Therefore, the principle of presupposed ‘best interests’ dominates over the ‘will and preferences’ principle. Accordingly, the system recognizes only substitute decision-making for the ward, instead of supportive decision-making with the ward. This should be changed as a matter of priority in the future. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Euro-integration of the Republic of North Macedonia: Aligning with the EU acquis in Family related Matters and Children’s Rights, Iustinianus Primus Law Review Vol. 15, No. 1(Faculty of Law 'Iustinianus Primus' Skopje, 2024-04)Ignovska ElenaThis paper explores the process of Euro-integration of the Republic of North Macedonia, focusing on the aligning of its legal framework with the European Union acquis (the accumulated body of EU legislation and regulations) in family-related matters and children’s rights. The Republic of North Macedonia's accession to the EU is a complex process, requiring alignment with various EU policies and regulations. This paper explores the national legal consistency in a rather sensitive field to be harmonized, outlining the challenges and opportunities that arise during this transformative journey. By evaluating the progress made thus far and identifying areas that require further attention, this study aims to contribute to the broader discourse on the North’ Macedonia’s European integration. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, The ‘Civil Death’ of Persons Deprived of Legal Capacity in the Republic of North Macedonia(Iustinianus Primus Faculty of Law, 2024)Ignovska ElenaThe author tackles the topic on legal capacity in the intersection between civil law and human rights that is very important, yet neglected in the Macedonian legal theory and jurisprudence. Namely, Republic of North Macedonia has ratified the Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and has an obligations to align its legal system (primarily its Family Law and Law on Non-contentious Procedure, but also other laws) with its spirit. It seems like the concept of legal capacity does not include variations of the mental capacity in the Court’s decision. Instead, it is binary in terms that the legal capacity can be either limited/deprived or not, without further specification of the scope of rights and obligations encompassed therein. As a result, persons deprived from legal capacity (and sometimes persons with limited legal capacity) are limited to enjoy and act upon most of their fundamental rights. The author concludes that persons deprived from legal capacity in the Macedonian legal system are in ‘civil death’ because they are restricted from enjoying and acting upon many fundamental human rights. These include equality rights (not to be discriminated against), private and family life rights (right to make decisions about their own body, medical treatments, reproductive choices, conclusion of marriage, recognition of parenthood etc), procedural rights (right to access to court and administrative institutions, right to express legally valid opinions in such proceedings), political rights (right to vote) etc. This should be changed as a matter of priority in the future. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Sustainability and Reproduction: A Human Rights Based Approach/Nachhaltigkeit and Fortpflanzung, ed/hg Muller S., Morciniec Jan P. Interdisciplinary Sustainability. Stimuli for Further Reflection/Interdisziplinar Nachaltigkeit. Anregunden zum Weiderdeneken(Facultas, 2023-12)Ignovska ElenaThe paper approaches sustainability from a human rights perspective. It takes anthropocentric lenses towards environmental issues, arguing that humans and the environment and interconnected and therefore interdependent. The ECtHR’s contribution has proven revolutionary by broadening the scope of certain rights stipulated in the ECHR to the area of environmental protection. On the other hand, even national courts could apply the human rights approach on national level before it even reaches the ECtHR. Family law issues are at the borderline between private and public law. In the intersection of sustainability, environment and families there is the intersection of reproduction. Sustainable development is vulnerable because most people, families, and governments care more about their own sustainability than about the whole world. The paper uses the same human rights approach to answer how to solve reproductive discrepancies (overpopulation and below-replacement fertility rates) in different regions that threaten planetary sustainability in different ways. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Private and Family Life and Contested Moralities in front of the European Court of Human Rights(UKIM, Faculty of Law, 2023-12)Ignovska ElenaIn fields of contested moralities, such as in the section between medically assisted reproduction and private and family life, the margin of appreciation of the European Court of Human Rights is still especially flexible, thus endangering (instead of protecting) individual human rights. The text will prove this to be the case via elaboration of two (among the others)cases: the case Paradiso and Campanelli v. Italy(2017) that involves a reproductive tourism and a lost national recognition of an adopted embryo born by surrogate woman in a foreign country and the case Orlandi and Others v. Italy(2018) that involves a lost national recognition to same-sex couples married abroad. The outcome in both cases is different. The author concludes that the European Court of Human Rights should interpret (as it does in recent cases)on grounds of rational and strict scrutiny in the European context, because its decisions set a European hierarchy of values, which cannot vary drastically from State to State. In this way, the Court should remain, for the Members of the Council of Europe, a guide, and not to allow overuse of the margin of appreciation in the field of conflicts between fundamental human rights. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, THE RIGHT TO ACCESS TO COURT IN PARENTAL PROCEEDINGS FOR CHILDREN OF “UNKNOWN ORIGIN“ IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA(2021)Ignovska ElenaThe Macedonian Family Law forbids (1) parental proceedings if the parental relationship has been established by adoption (article 75), (2) contestation of fatherhood if the mother has been inseminated by sperm donation following consent by her marital partner (article 71), and (3) establishment of fatherhood if the child has been conceived using artificial insemination (article 62). This is mostly because of the sole relevance of the blood ties for the national Courts, despite the growing importance of the factual family life by the European Court of Human Rights. Nevertheless, these domestic articles infringe the right to a fair trial as stipulated in article 6(1) in conjunction with the right to effective remedy (article 13), and restrict access to examination of the family life of children conceived by gamete donation or adopted (article 8), which in turn is discriminatory on grounds of birth (article 14) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The author tackles the national legal (in)consistency with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the European Convention on Human Rights and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the field of recognition and realization of the right to access to identifying information about the genetic origin of adopted children and children conceived by gamete donation as a reason for the breach of their right to access to court in parental proceedings and the right to a fair trial. - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, MARITAL PRESUMPTION AS A LEGAL OBSTACLE FOR GAINING LEGAL STATUS OF CHILDREN LOST IN ADMINISTRATIVE AND JUDICIAL LABYRINTHS IN NORTH MACEDONIA AND IN THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS’ CASE-LAW(Iustinianus Primus Law Review, 2021)Ignovska ElenaIn May 2021 a young man aged 19, born and raised in the Republic of North Macedonia died unexpectedly under unknown health circumstances. Namely, he did not have health insurance, nor a general practitioner to follow his health because he was never issued a birth certificate. The news wrote that the only proof of his existence were excellent grades at school-which against all legal impediments allowed him to educate. For the rest of the legal society, the person never existed. One would ask why this happened. The administrative organs would “silently presuppose“ that the answer lies in the legal marital presumption of his mother’s husband from whom she was separated but not divorced at the time of his birth (even though they divorced afterwards), while she was living with another man (genetic father of the deceased man) in an extra-marital relationship. This administrative and legal nightmare is in line with the Family Act but against internationally ratified documents, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 7 and 8), the European Convention of Human Rights (art. 8) and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights (e.g. Kroon and Others v. the Netherlands, 1994). Even more, it unveils one rigid and therefore ill functioning system. The text aims to emphasize that no matter how outdated national Family Act is (subject of another debate), national administrative and judicial organs should manifest flexible interpretation in light of the evolutionary concept of the law in the current time and context and through the prism of the specifics of each particular case. Family Act reforms are placed in the “waiting room“ for a prolonged period. Yet, families have to live with the consequences of an ignorant legislator and strict and positivistic interpretation of laws in their application by national institutions every day. Unfortunately, for some of them, like the boy who had waited for recognition for too long before he died, justice delayed is justice terminally denied.