THE FAMILY LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA THROUGH THE PRISM OF THE EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Abstract

Family law and human rights intersect in the field of rights related to couples, relationships between children and their parents and other relatives and children’s rights. The text analyzes the provisions of the national family law regarding parental responsibilities and children’s rights as well as their application in relation to the ECHR and the case-law of the ECtHR in order to demonstrate how necessary is to reform them better sooner than later. After several lost cases in front of the ECtHR (for instance, Oluri v. North Macedonia and Mitovi v. FYRM), as well as the possibility of others to be lost in the future, the national state authorities should manifest real intentions and plan to avoid further infringements of the Convention. Namely, the Family Act dates from 1992, was amended and changed many times but never harmonized as a whole and therefore represents a clash between old and new principles. The State should pay more attention to diagnosing national legal inconsistencies with internationally ratified documents and the ECtHR’s case-law in order to be able to avoid further infringements. Even though there are official demands for changes regarding some aspects of the Family Act from legal professionals, non-governmental organizations and citizens initiatives (for instance – regarding the right to know child’s origin, shared parental responsibilities, registered partnerships in the light of the right to private and family life), national authorities remain continually unresponsive and place the family law reforms in the waiting room.