Assessing the Situation of Domestic Violence in North Macedonia: Legal Framework and Criminal Justice Responses

Manifestations of domestic violence cause considerable legal and social issues in North Macedonia, where specific categories of individuals belonging to a household are often affected with their fundamental human rights being undermined. In response, this paper examines the appropriate legal framework regulating domestic violence, while particularly emphasizing the dimension of criminal law and contemporary legislative reforms. The research performed scrutinizes the global standards established by the Istanbul Convention, as well as their integration into the Macedonian legal system. The research also delves into contemporary amendments made to the Macedonian Criminal Code, especially regarding changes in Article 130 inaugurating ex officio prosecution for criminal cases where bodily injuries have been committed as a result of domestic violence. Furthermore, the present-day circumstances have been investigated through the lenses of official statistical data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and selected observations derived from relevant reports that draw attention to issues such as institutional changes, the prevalence of psychological violence, and underreporting. The research recognizes polarity between prescribed legal provisions and their implementation in practice, while simultaneously acknowledging contemporary legislative attempts to address such drawbacks. The research findings consider that domestic violation still represents a convoluted issue necessitating a more efficient institutional response, despite improvements in the legal framework by recent reforms. The paper concludes with recommendations directed towards strengthening criminal law mechanisms, improvements of their implementation and the enhancement of protection for victims.