THE ‘CIVIL DEATH’ OF PERSONS DEPRIVED OF LEGAL CAPACITY IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

The 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 obligation to align its legal system (primarily its Family Law
and Law on Non-contentious Procedure, but also other laws) with its spirit. It seems as if the
concept of legal capacity does not include variations of the mental capacity in the Court’s decision
when deciding to limit/deprive a person of his/her legal capacity. Instead, it is binary in terms that
the legal capacity can either be limited/deprived or not, without further specification of the scope
of rights and obligations encompassed therein. As a result, persons deprived of legal capacity (and
sometimes persons with limited legal capacity) are limited to enjoying and acting upon most of
their fundamental rights. The author concludes that persons deprived of legal capacity in the
Macedonian legal system are in a state of ‘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 (a right to make decisions about their own
body, medical treatments, reproductive choices, conclusion of marriage, recognition of parenthood
etc.), procedural rights (a right to access to court and administrative institutions, a right to express
legally valid opinions in such proceedings), political rights (a right to vote) etc. This should be
changed as a matter of priority in the future.