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The migration landscape is a dynamic phenomenon shaped by geopolitical shifts, economic transformations, and climate change. North Macedonia, located in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, serves as a critical transit country for significant migration patterns due to its strategic location and political aspirations towards Europe. Facing internal demographic challenges such as population decline and aging, the country is transitioning towards attracting immigration and becoming a destination for migrants. The Mediterranean Crisis of 2015 highlighted North Macedonia's pivotal role in migration routes, with over 800,000 individuals crossing its borders amid Europe's refugee and migrant influx. Despite containment efforts, the country remains part of mixed-movement routes, with significant border crossings observed in subsequent years. The long-term suspicions of brain drain were confirmed when the demographic census of 2021 revealed a startling 10% population decline over nearly two decades, emphasizing persistent outmigration and aging trends. To address migration challenges, North Macedonia adopted the Resolution on Migration Policy 2021-2025, aiming to establish a robust framework for managing both legal and illegal migrations. Anticipatory governance emerges as a proactive approach to navigating migration complexities, incorporating foresight and policy integration to shape sustainable migration policies in the country. The development of an Anticipatory Migration Governance model that seeks to foster transformative mindset shifts among stakeholders and institutionalize forward-looking planning, ensuring the effectiveness of migration management strategies. Through capacity development, improving of data collection, and decisions based on data, North Macedonia aims to navigate migration dynamics and achieve economic development with future-looking inclusive policies and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enduring global issue of women's underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields carries significant implications for both societal advancement and economic growth. Despite the rise in women's enrollment in higher education, the persistent gender pay gap can be attributed in part to their limited presence in STEM domains, which tend to offer higher-paying career prospects. This study scrutinizes the impact of national policies on gender imbalances in STEM, focusing on the case of North Macedonia. It assesses existing measures and programs while proposing recommendations to foster gender parity in STEM both national and local scales. Employing a mixed research methodology, the study incorporates desktop research, statistical analysis of gender distribution in STEM fields, policy evaluations of national frameworks, and primary data collection through interviews and surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years in North Macedonia, there has been a noticeable and steady rise in the prevalence of non-marital unions or domestic partnerships, alongside a decline in the number of marriages and an increase in divorces. This trend mirrors developments seen across Europe, signaling significant shifts in the perception, function, and role of the institution of marriage and family over recent decades. Across European nations, various models of legal frameworks govern non-marital unions. These differences encompass conditions for existence and legal recognition, the legal consequences of domestic partnership, and procedures for its dissolution. While some countries require registration and fulfillment of specific criteria for legal recognition and effects of non-marital unions, others, like North Macedonia, do not impose such prerequisites. In certain jurisdictions, the legal ramifications of non-marital unions closely resemble those of marriage, encompassing both personal and property rights between non-marital partners. However, in the Republic of North Macedonia, the law predominantly focuses on regulating property relations between such partners, granting them certain rights—a focal point of this research paper. The legal framework governing the property relations of non-marital partners holds significant importance, particularly in safeguarding the financial security of economically vulnerable partners and ensuring the protection of any shared children. The methods employed in this research include theoretical analysis and the comparative method, drawing upon the legal frameworks and practices of Croatia, France, and Italy alongside North Macedonia. Through these analytical approaches, we aim to elucidate the intricate dynamics of domestic partnerships and their implications for individuals and families in contemporary society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of the research refers to the aspect of digital forensics and computer crime and the latter is one of the reasons for the evolution of crime in general. Based on the growing trend of technology development and the increase in the number of digital crimes, a special emphasis is given to the statistical aspect of computer crime as well as measures to reduce the impact of computer crime, including the ethical and legal aspects in the Republic of North Macedonia (RNM). To conduct this research, statistical data on computer crime in RNM from 2011 to 2020 were used, based on historical data of analysis, as well as comparison, correlation, and the ANOVA-test. The highest number of crimes were registered in 2020 and a special feature is that a positive linear trend can be observed during the last decade. "Damage and unauthorized access to a computer system" took the first place in computer crimes according to the Criminal Procedure Law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are multiple positive effects of internationalization of Higher Education (HE) on enriching students' experiences in general and providing opportunities for exchange and development of all segments of university functioning. This paper aims to contribute to determining the role of institutional QA in promotion of the international cooperation in HE by analysing undergraduate students' perceptions on their international experience and comparing them to their home University. Individual experiences of students from the Southeast European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia, who participated in Erasmus exchange program in the last two academic years (2021/22 and 2022/23), with regard to the main quality assurance (QA) principles and measurements applied at their home University, are being considered. Their academic progress at the international universities is also taken into consideration. The aim is to collect firsthand information from the main stakeholders in the QA process about areas that can be further developed, as well as to position SEEU and self-check where it stands comparing and benchmarking it with some reputable European universities in order to better prepare its students for the international job market. SEEU has one of the most developed QA systems in the wider region, created and constantly being developed based on the international standards and guidelines and the long institutional experience. Thus, the paper also aims to contribute to defining some basic standards of internationalization of QA which would be recommended to the institutions from less developed, ITC (inclusiveness target countries) in order to assist them to place and welcome international students more successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores some of the basic similarities and differences between fault-based and no-fault systems of automobile accident insurance from the perspective of a U.S. state and the laws of Macedonia. The majorities of U.S. states have adopted an at-fault system of compensation and therefore share more similarities with Macedonia than the laws of a dozen U.S. states that have adopted a no-fault system. Whereas Macedonia employs a system of nearly universal health care, such is not the case in the United States. The respective states have adopted either a fault-based system or a no-fault system, but in either case issues of coverage for automobile accidents is more complicated for the lack of a nationalized health care system that at minimum acts as a safety net for treatment of injuries related to automobile accidents. It is posited that complications relating to the lack of universal health care coverage in the United States has led to significantly heightened regulatory intervention by the several states such that the similarities between the free-market approach of the states and of civil law (code) systems are greater than the differences. The paper is not based on empirical data of the legal systems or the medical systems, nor is the undeniable interrelation between a medical system and the corresponding legal system with regard to insurance coverage of primarily health-based issues considered other than to highlight how both may play a part in regulation of the automobile accident insurance industry in light the involvement of public health, safety and welfare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to explore teachers' beliefs about multilingualism at universities in North Macedonia. Multilingualism as a concept is related to an individual's ability to speak three or more languages. Given the educational and cultural globalization, multilingualism is crucial in many countries in the world. North Macedonia is an excellent example of multilingualism where different cultures live together and learn the languages of each other. At Universities across the country, teachers face different challenges while teaching multilingual classes. Linguistic competence in many local languages allows students to learn foreign languages easily and thus raises students' global awareness and deepens knowledge about their future teaching career. The study analysed data collected from thirty EFL teachers from four different universities, Southeast European University, University of Tetova, Mother Teresa University and International Balkan University in North Macedonia. The research instrument used was the teacher survey which contained five domains: Teachers' perspective on multilingualism; Students' language learning knowledge; Language teacher collaboration; Learning materials, and other topics related to L2 learning and teaching. The study results revealed that teachers view multilingualism as a positive asset for the students, and they expressed that they have developed an approach which helps multilinguals to achieve their learning goals. One area which needs improvement is teacher collaboration, as they tend to collaborate regarding materials and textbooks, however, not willing to share their experience on teaching methods/strategies and challenges faced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research paper elaborates on the main concepts and terminology of strategic planning in education, including all the steps of building a strategic plan with mission and vision statements. Furthermore, it analyses and compares some successful strategic planning case studies in education by identifying the strengths and some weaknesses. The final results of this inquiry serve as recommendations for positive changes and reforms in North Macedonian education. Furthermore, this research paper emphasizes the importance of the SMART strategic goals for improving education, articulated via the mission and vision statements. It is quite interesting that internationally accredited educational organizations like NOVA IS of Skopje have more successful improvement plans based on shared values and goals via their mission and vision. The implementation of their strategic plans is closely monitored and evaluated. Moreover, some successful educational reforms happened in Finland, Singapore, and Victoria, Australia, and their ministries of education are dedicated and accountable to aligning their mission and vision with all public schools in these countries. On the contrary, although the Ministry of Education of North Macedonia has clearly published the mission and vision statements, there is still a huge gap in the reality of implementation of those in all public schools, and rarely any school has a shared mission and vision on their web page. Browsing around, one primary school in North Macedonia, "Jan Amos Komenski" has recently started sharing their school's mission and vision, values, and goals with the community which is a positive change toward SMART reforms. Strategic planning affects the improvement of learning and teaching; therefore it needs to be built inclusively and wisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to determine the demographic characteristics influencing the performance of Academic staff at the Southeast European University (SEEU). This study employs data from the student evaluation carried out by the students for their respective professors and courses for the Fall and Spring semesters during the academic year 20/21. A lot of research has been done on demographics and its effect on the professor's performance, and they point out that demographic attributes can change the rating evaluations, therefore these factors need to be analyzed at SEEU to come to our conclusion. We assume that middle aged professors, females and single professors receive higher evaluation scores. In order to analyze the demographic characteristics of the academic staff of SEEU and how they influence student evaluations, quantitative research methodology was used including calculation of frequencies, percentages, means and cross tabulations. The results of the study show that students generally evaluate with high grades their professors, where the average of the whole questions asked resulted above 4.5, as per Likert scale, 1-5. Furthermore, the general results of the academic staff according to the demographic characteristics such as age, experience in teaching, academic title, gender and marital status for each academic staff do really show differences in student evaluation values. This is an important thing to know when recruiting and retaining academic staff that appear to be highly appreciated by students especially because that results from higher teaching quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the overall development of the endangered language around the world in reference to UNESCO's Atlas of World Endangered Languages and reflects on the local context. The focus to local context refers to the current territory of North Macedonia in which it is believed there are 7 endangered languages such as: Adyge, Aromanian, Gagauz (South Balkans), Megleno-Romanian, Judezmo, Romani and Torlak. These languages are classified as endangered but are still spoken in the country. The article also reflects on the status of the Albanian language in North Macedonia by drawing comparisons with two other language varieties such as Arberesh which spoken in Southern Italy and Arvanitika spoken in Greece. The challenges that these minority languages have faced in particular countries should serve as a guide in designing effective language policies in North Macedonia in order for the language not be endangered. In the last section the article report on the phenomena of Globalization in which English has become the global language and at the same time has accelerated the loss of many native languages around the globe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation plays an immense role and is one of the key factors for successful and qualitative performance in all spheres of personal and professional engagement of individuals. Therefore, educational institutions, including academia, pay special attention to finding tools for motivating students, but also for motivation of their academic staff. Increased motivation has shown to lead to better performance and better performance inevitably contributes to quality enhancement at both individual and institutional level. The aim of this paper is to present an institutional Ranking and Remuneration (R&R) Policy based on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in four areas identified as the most crucial for successful operation of a higher education institution: teaching and learning, research, staff digital profile, service to society and project-based activities. Southeast European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia has developed KPIs in these four areas through an inclusive and transparent process based on its unique Total Quality Management (TQM) approach. The policy has been created after many consultations, trials and simulations and its main objective is to enhance institutional academic productivity and effectiveness through a human resource vibration that starts from individual evaluation, motivation and performance differentiation and leads to stimulation for achieving excellence. It is at an initial stage and if tested well in practice, it can serve as a model for other higher education institutions in the country and wider. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local governance in developing countries demonstrates many problems related to financial sources and good governance of their finances. Local Self-Government (LSG) units in the Republic of North Macedonia are very small which results in a lack of capabilities to raise enough funds to offer delegated services. The local government in the Republic of North Macedonia centralizes almost all public finance. Local budgets depend heavily on state transfers and donations from the central budget. The lack of funds remained a crucial problem even though there were some attempts for the decentralization process. Practically, governments in many of the local governments in North Macedonia could not secure their resources. In this way, they could come with specific charges, but all taxes are decided by the central government. The practice showed that local governments before borrowing needs to be approved by the Ministry of Finance. The Republic of North Macedonia as a potential candidate to join the European Union should make several changes regarding the legislation during the process of accession to benefit from being a small candidate country. The main aim of this paper is to investigate alternative financial sources such are Municipal Bonds, Partnership Sukuk securities, and PPP. Unfortunately, many financial alternatives have not been able to be implemented due to failures in reforms and good financial governance. But they remain an open opportunity for developing a local government in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Domestic violence is one of the most serious forms of violation of basic human freedoms and rights regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, and status. A reflection on many international statistics shows that women are the most frequent victims of domestic violence. Based on the definition of the phenomenon of domestic violence, the forms of abuse, the manner how violence is treated, the possibility of children, men, extramarital spouses, brothers, sisters, and old people living in an extended domestic community, of also being victims is not excluded. Since domestic violence is not only a national problem but a worldwide problem, international organizations have worked towards the eradication of this phenomenon by sanctioning it in various international conventions. Also, the legal systems of many countries prohibit and sanction domestic violence by special laws obliging the state authorities to act in all situations when there are indications that there are direct or indirect violent acts in a family. In this paper, the authors present only the domestic violence against children as an evident problem in families, but which is often unreported. The legal frameworks of the Republic of North Macedonia and Republic of Kosovo are presented in this paper with the aim to describe the material-legal and procedural-legal treatment of domestic violence by pointing out the failure of the state authorities in implementing the laws on protection and prevention of this phenomenon. The authors take the approach of only treating the legal consequences of child abuse by parents that in both legislations is deprivation of parental rights for the violent parent. They conclude that the state authorities should intensify their work in taking control measures towards all the families where there are suspicions that the parental rights are neglected, and the child is abused. Because many cases of abuse have not been detected or reported, and in both countries a special study especially on domestic violence against children does not exist, the possibility that the number for this type of child abuse is great. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of local community protection mechanisms in Kosovo and North Macedonia. The intention is to comparatively analyze the community protection mechanism's differences and similarities and their establishment in both countries. Requirements on community protection mechanisms as tools for ensuring community rights will be elaborated with two institutional settings and succinct legal infrastructure. The establishment of the community-led mechanisms debate has been increasingly conductive to Kosovo and North Macedonia since the inter-ethnic conflicts that these two states were involved in. For that particular reason, Kosovo and North Macedonia have initiated the design of community protection mechanisms to foster inter-community communication, tension easing, and serving as a means and tool for communities' inclusiveness in local and central institutional affairs. In doing this analysis, two primary legal documents in Kosovo and North Macedonia, the proposed plan settlement of the former United Nations special envoy Martii Ahtisaari in Kosovo and the Ohrid Framework Agreement in North Macedonia, will lead to conclusive comparative findings. Further, the comparative analysis will extend to elaborating Kosovo's and North Macedonia's legislative framework, such as their constitutions, community protection laws, and local governance legislation. The importance of the paper also extends to comparing the community protection mechanisms between two countries in finding potential differences and parities between the community protection mechanisms in Kosovo and North Macedonia. Finally, the analysis will provide a theoretical understanding of the local community protection mechanisms framework, focusing on establishing community protection mechanisms, legal requirements, and successes these mechanisms have brought to both countries' institutional settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the protection offered to parties, participants and third parties during enforcement, as one of the most important requirements of the enforcement procedure. Having in mind that bailiffs except for implementing enforcement, they are also competent to determine the means by which creditors' claims will be fulfilled. The realization of the creditors' claims does not mean use of any kind of measure or enforcement procedural activity. In this context the authors review ways in which debtors and their family members can be protected during enforcement actions, such as measures of exclusion and restriction of enforcement on the debtor's items and income. Furthermore, the authors elaborate other legal and important ways for protection of parties, participants and third parties, such as opposition to illegality and complaints provided by the Law on Enforcement. In this regard, results of this research have shown that the RNM is making efforts to create a more effective enforcement system, which includes guarantees not only for the protection of the creditor and the debtor as a party, but also for the participants and third parties. From the enforcement experiences of citizens were reported dissatisfaction and complaints of citizens regarding the performance of bailiffs, namely taking the necessary means of subsistence form them. To avoid this situation Amendments on the Law on Enforcement in 2020 were brought, so the legal framework was clarified in terms of measures for exclusion and restriction of enforcement. This resulted in the prevention of economic damage of debtors and their family, because now no action can be taken if the debtor has an average salary or pension. Extraordinary legal remedies in enforcement proceeding are excluded, but there are other safeguards that are related to enforcement process but are not regulated by the Law on Enforcement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of hate speech is widely present in the Balkan Peninsula and although it has a serious impact in inter-ethnic and inter-religious relations, it has never been addressed properly by the academia or the judicial systems. This paper aims to outline the main principles that define hate speech from the linguistic and legal perspective. Throughout the paper several international cases of hate speech are cited along with the measures that western European countries take in order to minimize the level of stereotypes and public discrimination. In the second part, the paper brings examples from degrading hate speech cases coming from public figures in Macedonia. In addition, a few comparative cases from the international practice have been cited in order to perceive if an egalitarian society is possible in Macedonia from the aspect of language usage without the hatred constituents by aiming to develop an acceptable public discourse for all.

This paper reflects on the interaction that language and economy have in society versus an ethnocentric approach that sees other languages as challenges instead of an opportunity. The paper analyses the role that bilingualism has in the economy and how economy can impact the promotion of flexible language policies in order to open new markets. Throughout the discourse a strong focus is placed on the dilemma: can language impact and make economy beneficial? The study aims to explore how multicultural societies which often have one dominant language can benefit by opening language diversity to the business habitat with a specific focus on particular linguistic and economic developments in the Balkans after the fall of Yugoslavia. In the second part this global issues are analyzed in the local context. The study brings examples from Macedonia on how the private sector is much more advanced and innovative compared to the state institution. During this discourse few corporations active in Macedonia are analyzed in order to size the positive impact that flexible usage of language has on the economy and how state institutions can replicate this positive model. Other factors such as culture and the neurolinguistics studies have been considered as well.

The human history relates to the history of communication, which has also been a co-driver of human development. Communication integrates the knowledge, organization and power of a society. Today, there is an increasing debate over the importance of politicians' mutual communication, communication with voters and the media, the role of public relations in politics, and communication with the civil society. Thus, political communication and the creative use of the media remain the essential component of any individual involved in politics or even of a political group. In this study, political communication in North Macedonia is presented in the context of political efforts into the integration process in European Union (EU), by observing all the stages within the process so far. From the content and the issues addressed, it is clear that policymakers face the challenges of communication (as is the case in many countries aspiring the European integration). In this paper, the premises of genuinely political communication strategy are analyzed separately, assessing them in the context of the political communication theory. It will be shown that successful communication is an important tool for convincing citizens that EU provides a better quality of life and work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for worldwide communication has made people learn as many foreign languages as they can in order to be able to send and receive information from all over the world. Realizing this situation, researchers and linguists have carried out a large number of studies in order to find out the best ways for teaching and learning English as a second or foreign language. The terms language learning and language acquisition are not new since in many earlier researches language acquisition is compared to the process of learning the mother tongue whereas language learning is compared to the process when a child learns a second or foreign language. This paper aims to showcase that teaching/learning new vocabulary using pictures is much more effective than the other methods of vocabulary learning. The research also puts emphasis on the language level of learners. It demonstrates that the method of using pictures and illustrations works well with all levels of proficiency and as such, it has brought very useful results. It was carried out at the South East European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia and participants were thirty (30) students from all five Faculties, divided in three different groups based on their language proficiency. Each group consisted of ten (10) students, aged 18 to 22 years. They were of elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate level of English. The research lasted for six weeks, because the students had to be introduced to six different vocabulary topics. Since the experiment was carried out in a real classroom environment, the target vocabulary topics used for this purpose were chosen from their students' book. Data were collected in three phases. During the first phase, students were asked to complete a questionnaire, consisting of questions regarding the vocabulary learning methods, mainly vocabulary associated with pictures. In the second phase, they were engaged in real activities in a traditional classroom setting, while in the last phase, at the end of the last session, participants took a quiz that was supposed to provide evidence and additional data about participants' achievements. It is expected that the findings from this experiment will be useful to current and prospective teachers as they show that the method of pictures and illustrations associating the target vocabulary functions well with different levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of student evaluations of teaching (SET) has become a widespread practice in higher education despite inconclusive evidence reported in the literature around its validity. Not surprisingly, the question of the validity of SET continues to be a current debate in higher education, pointing to the need for more research in this area. This paper is a part of a larger scale study, which aims to contribute to broadening the knowledge and understanding of SET validity by analysing the process within the South East European University (SEEU) in North Macedonia in order to determine whether student evaluations are objective and critical. A likert scale questionnaire, containing 9 questions, was designed for the purpose of the analysis. The questionnaire was sent to all students from the five (5) Faculties: Business and Economics, Law, Contemporary Sciences and Technologies, Contemporary Social Sciences and Faculty of Languages, Cultures and Communications, in both campuses, Tetovo and Skopje. Three hundred and thirty three (333) students participated in the survey. Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used for analysing the results. Findings revealed that the information students received about the reputation, experience and qualifications of the professors had the highest influence on their perceptions, which in turn influenced the evaluations. As an addition, the present paper also compares two methods on a data set of actual SET. For illustrative purposes, only data from one faculty have been analysed. It is shown that the traditional method of considering the average values can misrepresent a teacher's performance as it can be highly sensitive to any extreme grades, being either very positive or very negative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online learning is becoming a commonplace in different settings starting from elementary, secondary and higher levels of education. Different educational institutions use different communication tools to promote learning because the expansive nature of the Internet and the accessibility of technology have generated a surge in the demand for web-based teaching and learning across the nations (Chaney, 2010). The online teaching and learning have become a necessity for education around the globe during COVID 19-pandemic. There are several challenges which are faced during online classes because the students must have strong self-motivation skills and be very disciplined to achieve the desired learning results. This paper presents and analyzes the data on the benefits and challenges of online teaching at South East European University (SEEU) during COVID 19 pandemic. The participants of the study are students of the BA level majoring in English Language and Literature and German Language and Literature at SEEU in Tetovo, North Macedonia. To answer the research questions, we have used a student questionnaire, interviews, and student reflection papers written during the online courses. Overall, the research indicates that benefits of online coursework outweigh the challenges that students face during the online classes. From a safety perspective, this study emphasizes the need to consider the impact of online teaching on student motivation and the paper raises important questions about how to best support students enrolled in online courses. Further research is needed in order to better evaluate the benefits, challenges, and useful strategies of successful students enrolled in online courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last period, especially during the COVID-19 pandemics, individuals as well as institutions globally and in North Macedonia particularly, have failed to correctly respond to the new challenges related to cyber security, online attacks, and fake news. Being that in a state of isolation and quarantine most governmental institutions have heavily relied on online tools to communicate among each other and with the public, it is quite evident that they have not been well prepared to adopt new technologies. This paper aims to bridge together the needs for technology during the COVID-19 pandemics versus the security challenges that many forget to mention. The primary focus of this paper is to elaborate on the security challenges associated with technology with several examples from incidents around the world and from North Macedonia. As such, it represents a perspective paper with focus on current and emerging advances on IT security for running the "new normal" world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inter-ethnic relations between Albanians and Macedonians in Macedonia have been rather problematic since the times of former Yugoslavia. After independence, the new constitution of the Republic of Macedonia instead of improving it has further downgraded the position of Albanians and other minorities living in the country. The non-fulfilment of Albanians’ core demands led to an armed conflict in 2001. The Ohrid Agreement has in addition to ending the armed conflict, also provided for a range of legislative and policy measures to improve the position of the Albanians by ensuring equality and minority protection. However, 16 years after the Ohrid Agreement, inter-ethnic relations in Macedonia still remain burdened by prejudice and stereotypes, rather than cooperation and mutual prosperity. The main aim of the paper is to analyse the state of inter-ethnic relations in Macedonia, with special focus on relations between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians. The paper also offers an analysis of main factors that contribute to inter-ethnic tensions in the country and explores possible scenarios in the future. The most relevant part of the paper analyses the causality between inter-ethnic and interstate relations. The paper claims that similarly to most of the countries in the Western Balkans, inter-ethnic and interstate relations are basically the components of the same equation. The paper concludes that in Macedonia, Kosovo rather than Albania is much more relevant for the causality between inter-ethnic and interstate relations in Macedonia, and it also offers several reasons to support such thesis. Accordingly, the overall inter-ethnic relations between Macedonians and Albanians in Macedonia heavily depend on inter-state relations between Macedonia and Kosovo and vice versa.

This article is about the rights of the Roma in North Macedonia and the level of discrimination that Roma are facing while employed in the public sector in the Republic of North Macedonia. The aims and objectives of the article are theoretical and practical understanding of the situation of Roma and the violation of their rights through direct and indirect discrimination at work. The data was collected during the period from May-July 2019 via 52 collected questionaries from a total of 70 public servants who were asked to be a part of the research. The article shows new data we have collected from employed Roma as public servants in different institutions in the state. The surveyed public servants were 52 in total, from which 34 are employees with secondary education, 17 are with university education and only 1 has a masters degree. The questionnaire is composed out of 17 questions about the forms of discrimination, feeling or witnesing discrimination at their workplace, who caused the discrimination, witnessing the spread of prejudices and stereotypes about the Roma, rejection of colleagues to share an office with Roma, and who caused the discrimination. One of the results shows that 55% of the surveyed Roma did not have a single training from their employer in the last 12 months and that 69% of those surveyed stated that they felt discrimination in the last 12 months on everyday basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims to analyze the legal norms that regulate the protection of the property right in the legal system of the Republic of Macedonia. In most cases, the protection of property right is realized through suits; however, our legal system provides for the possibility that the protection of property right can also be realized through the registration of immovable property rights in the respective Public Registries. Given the fact that in the Republic of North Macedonia the normative regulation of property suits is not contained in a single normative act, but rather extends to several such acts, the article, based on the practice of the high courts, seeks to analyze the legal cases related to property rights that qualify as rights similar to property rights, but which enjoy legal protection provided by law. The article will mainly elaborate on the basic provisions on property protection suits contained in the Law on Ownership and other Real Rights (2001). However, in this context, the provisions on property protection that are contained in the Law on Real Estate Cadastre (2008), the Law on Contentious Procedure (2005), the Law on Securing of Claims (2007), the Law on Construction Land (2008), etc., will also be taken into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education (good teachers and good schools) is crucial for the successful integration of vulnerable groups in the society. Multicultural diversity presents an opportunity to make schools more inclusive, creative and open-minded. Although there are different projects and activities for Roma inclusion in schools, the number of Roma children attending formal education is still very low. Without having attended formal education, the chances for social exclusion are high and minimal for leading a self-defined life. To increase the rate of school registration and the rate for completion, long-term policy interventions and financial support from international donations are needed. This paper aims to analyze the general situation of Roma children and youth the age of pre-school education, primary and secondary education, as well as the engagement of youth in volunteering activities as a significant role in the inclusion of Roma children in schools. Engagement in volunteering activities can help young people to be more integrated into society, as through volunteering they gain valuable experiences, new skills, and competencies that can improve their employability possibilities and enhance their attitudes towards citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors present several topics related to the nascent development of a merit-based hiring system in North Macedonia. This paper employs a normative approach. We advocate for a merit-based hiring system, similar to the American model. First, we explore the pressure exerted by the European Commission to adopt a merit-based system at all levels of government as a condition for entry into the European Union. Second, we delve into the patronage system in North Macedonia. Third, we provide a short history of patronage in the United States and the difficulty that nation had in curbing its entrenched patronage system. Fourth, we discuss the advantages of a merit-based hiring system, namely the creation of good governance, the improvement of employee morale, the development of more public confidence in government, the reduction of the influence of ethnic politics and the furtherance of the rule of law. Finally, we present an example drawn from the American federal government about the basic procedures of a merit-based hiring process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic diversity and cultural heterogeneity are a reality for the city of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. The changing ethnic demography and redressed power-balance between majority and non-majority groups on local level have spurred a turbulent conflict – that of governance of diversity in public space. This paper aims to understand citizens' views on how language, ethnicity, religion and collective cultural symbols are legitimised through the political, social and symbolic value of public spaces in their neighbourhoods. The results indicate that the political value of public spaces to stimulate contact, deliberation and debate among citizens on issues of their concern is undermined. Public spaces in Skopje are not planned and managed through a wide forum of citizen engagement. The colliding ethnonationalism and symbolic power struggle between the major ethnic groups result in co-ethnic preferences in socialisation and selection of public spaces. The concept of "the appropriate citizen" constructed through the symbolic meaning of public spaces perpetuates ethnonational rhetoric and supports expressions of citizenship that are limited to the nation-state and ethnic identification. In opposition to contact theory, this research indicates that self-segregation of ethnic groups can be prevalent in multi-ethnic neighbourhoods. This should make us think of the context where the contact is established and not only of the content of the interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary family law, parents are obliged to arrange the joined implementation of the parenting rights either by their own will or through the help of their lawyers and/or mediators. This institute of mutual agreement is known as joined custody or joined implementation of the parenting right after the divorce of the marriage. This institute makes it possible for parents who live separately to arrange their custody rights in the most convenient way for the child. With a joined custody agreement, the parents accept the obligation to implement all the rights and duties that constitute the parenting right even in case of their separation. Through not dividing their rights from their obligations and with the aim of being closer to the needs of the child, the institute of joined custody helps avoid the feelings of hostility and disagreement in regard to the judicial decision which gives permanent custody to one of the parents. This institute is incorporated in the family law of many countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary, Czech Republic, USA and Australia). This article aims to emphasize the need to introduce in the family law of RM an explicit provision for joined and responsible custody after the divorce in order to achieve the best interest of the child. There is a joined initiative of parents who live separately from their children who request the amendment of the Family Law of RM in this direction.

In this study of English Foreign Language Learners, the author explored the learning preferences of 14 students (ages 18-20) enrolled in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course. All students were provided with the same content, course materials, assignments and time for completing the assignments. They were all given the same pre and post-learning questionnaire, writing tasks and final exam. However, they completed these tasks either in a digital environment or in-class. The study was conducted at South East European University in Macedonia where digital instruction is not well known or practiced. The results indicate that the best way for students to learn is by combining the two learning environments. By completing an assignment both ways, students discovered not only that some tasks are best done in a digital environment and others in class, but also they discovered their preferred way of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the issue of cultural integration of a migrant community, i.e. Albanian community or Diaspora in the Austrian society. First, it elaborates culture as an element that distinguishes human beings from other living beings, stating that man is not born with culture but it is rather acquired, developed, cultivated, and enriched during one's lifetime. It also emphasizes the weight that culture has in society, noting that three forces have the greatest impact on society: the state, religion and culture. The second issue treated is cultural assimilation, as a process of social and cultural fusion of groups with different identities, cultural defense, cultural isolation and ghettoization. The second is Albanian Diaspora in Austria, the history, structure and cultural apology trends. Final and most important element of this research is empirical part, namely the survey applied in the field, i.e. in Austria, with 296 respondents, selected randomly. Among the conclusions are that Austrian Albanians tend cultural self-defense, apology of their code by creating cultural islands, meeting points, being concentrated culturally, that the first generation is more hesitant in accepting the Austrian cultural values compared with the second generation that is more cosmopolitan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is about defining ethnic parties and their classification. We define and discuss the terms politics, political party, ethnis group and ethnical party. We state differences about the traditional model of politics and the modern one. We analyze the importance of the political parties in representing the political rights of the people and what is needed so a political party can be established in the Republic of Macedonia. Also we show how to determine which party is an ethnical party and show a number of ethnic parties in Republic of Macedonia using the name of the party as an indicator. In this part we discuss the indicators and we state that good indicator is the program of the election campaign of the party. But still this is not 100% sure indicator if the party is ethnical. We concluded this because there are a lot of examples when the ruling party before the start of the election campaign does a research about the ethnical groups and after the research makes projects meant for the ethnic groups so the party can get the votes from the chosen ethnicity. At the end we concluded that the programs and the statues of the political parties are the best indicators and answer if a political party is a nonethnical, multi-ethnical or ethnical political party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the contemporary family law, parents are obliged to arrange the joined implementation of the parenting rights either by their own will or through the help of their lawyers and/or mediators. This institute of mutual agreement is known as joined custody or joined implementation of the parenting right after the divorce of the marriage. This institute makes it possible for parents who live separately to arrange their custody rights in the most convenient way for the child. With a joined custody agreement, the parents accept the obligation to implement all the rights and duties that constitute the parenting right even in case of their separation. Through not dividing their rights from their obligations and with the aim of being closer to the needs of the child, the institute of joined custody helps avoid the feelings of hostility and disagreement in regard to the judicial decision which gives permanent custody to one of the parents. This institute is incorporated in the family law of many countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Hungary, Czech Republic, USA and Australia). This article aims to emphasize the need to introduce in the family law of RM an explicit provision for joined and responsible custody after the divorce in order to achieve the best interest of the child. There is a joined initiative of parents who live separately from their children who request the amendment of the Family Law of RM in this direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article analyzes the right of disposal of marital property in relation to the undertaking of those legal actions that imply the highest authorizations that legal subjects can have over things. Having in consideration the fact that according to the legislation in the Republic of Macedonia, marital property is joint as are the authorizations of spouses over their joint items, it is important to determine the extent of the disposal, i.e. who disposes of the items of the joint property and to what extent. Referring to the normative framework, which regulates disposal relations of spouses, the article emphasizes the concept and importance of the authorization of disposal of things (alienation or assignment of things from joint ownership), through legal activities (sale, donation, exchange, etc.). In this context, the article tends to draw a divisive line between the administration with the joint item, referring to continuative actions and measures and the disposal of the thing, which is not continuative but, due to legal consequences it causes, has great importance in practice, and as a result, enjoys greater attention in legislators in terms of its limitation compared to the acts of administration with joint items in marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human rights were analyzed and described in many writings from older times. If we consider their fame and historical value, most important ones are: Great Charter of Freedoms (Magna Carta Libertatum) of 1215, the Law on Rights (Bill of Rights) of 1689, the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America (1776) and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789). In Chapter 1 of Magna Carta was described the freedom of religion - it established the freedom of the English church from state interference. Today, implementation of this principle, challenges the communities to examine the part they might play in the development of a liberal democracy and to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem in internal and international relations. The restitution of the expropriated congregational properties - concretely of the Islamic Community of Macedonia remains open and can reflect the level of respect of human rights in general and religious and property rights in particular. The aim of this paper is to bring some facts on actual situation regarding the implementation of religious and related rights and discuss the way this principle has found its implementation in Macedonian legislations. Also this paper will seek to identify the problems that occur regarding these rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the independence of Republic of Macedonia and the adoption of the Constitution of Macedonia, the country went through a substantial socio-political transition. The concept of human rights and freedoms, such as religious freedoms in the Macedonian Constitution is based on liberal democratic values. The Macedonian Constitution connects the fundamental human rights and freedoms with the concept of the individual and citizen, but also with the collective rights of ethnic minorities, respecting the international standards and responsibilities taken under numerous international human rights conventions and treaties, of which the country is a party. Republic of Macedonia has ratified all the so called 'core human right treaties' and now the real challenge lies in the implementation of the international standards. Some of these international conventions and treaties of the United Nations and of the Council of Europe are inherited by succession from the former Yugoslavian federation. Religious freedoms are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of human rights (1948), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), the European Convention on Human Rights (1953), the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981) (all documents ratified by the Republic of Macedonia). According to the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia 'The freedom of religious confession is guaranteed. The right to express one's faith freely and publicly, individually or with others, is guaranteed'. After the conflict of 2001 the Ohrid Framework Agreement secured group rights for ethnicities that are not in majority in the Republic of Macedonia. The present Law on the legal status of the church, religious communities and religious groups of 2007, repealed the Law on religion and religious groups of 1997. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children are the most sensitive part of a sciety, therefore the violence against them is considered a serious violation of their personal rights and their higher interests. In most of cases, children in Republic of Macedonia are very little or not at all informed concerning the possibilities of reporting the cases of violence against them by their parents or relatives (sisters, brothers, grandparents). The issue of domestic violence is still considered a private problem which occurs within the home. Thus, in most of cases, this problem remains unsolved in silence, without any alert for the state institutions or SOS phone lines for reporting domestic violence. Some children who are more aware for being subjected to violation of their rights are afraid to report the case because of further consequences. In this article some facts will be given about observing the symptoms and signs of violence against children, forms and types of violence against children, determination factors of the violence as well as the consequences and the impact of the domestic violence on the physical and psychological development of children. Based on the legal provisions and international conventions, parents, responsible institutions and the society in general are morally and legally obliged to respect and preserve the interest of the child. This article will show that in practice, these legal obligations are violated by parents and in specific cases also by the competent institutions because the lack of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay I will attempt to explain the relation between the rule of law and the economic development. First I will describe the rule of law and its role through the years. Then, I will continue with the connection between economic development and the rule of law. I will try to clarify Macedonia's legal framework and emphasize the constitution and its role regarding the rule of law and economic development. Latter, I will focus on the EU's report on our economy in our journey towards the union. And finally I will give something to think about for future researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rules as we know today in modern societies have their base in the Magna Carta from 1215. In that time people declared that the rights of the king and nobles must be limited and that was the first step toward as we know today 'democracy'. The rights incorporated in the Magna Carta defined the limits what a state can do and also set boundaries in order to achieve equality between the state and the individual. The rights proclaimed with Magna Carta found their path in the French Revolution from 1789 as 'Liberty, Equality and Fraternity' became symbol of democratic freedom and afterwards gave value in the conventions and other international instruments. The main purpose that was achieved with Magna Carta from today's perspective is that the rules have been implanted in the conscience of people, so they learn to obey and practice them. The Magna Carta rights are integral part of international conventions and on that way they have been taken from the states on national level so they become inevitable incorporated segment of the constitution and the laws of states. Those rights have achieved their purpose, because 800 years after their proclamation, some of them are still on force and have been provided in the constitutions of many countries including the Western Balkan countries. The rights that derived from Magna Carta concerning the rule of law, independence of the judiciary, equality before the law and prohibition of discrimination are integral part of the Constitution of Macedonia which makes efforts for their implementation into practice - because contrary, words will be just words on paper and nothing else. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses facts concerning Albanians in Macedonia as well as the Bulgarian politics. It reveals the Bulgarian statistics about the number of Albanians in Macedonia. It talks about the failure of reforms in the Ottoman Empire during the 1908 to 1910 period, wherein Bulgaria began to analyze the military option for resolving the problem with the Bulgarians in Macedonia and the Adrianopol region.

This paper explores the parallel interpretation of the funerals, the folk beliefs and the symbolic understandings of funeral customs in the Greek and the folk tradition in the territory of the Republic of Macedonia. Most of the Greek funeral customs, as well as those in the Macedonian folk tradition, can be connected with those that were practiced in other people and in other times. Although impression is gained that the ancient funeral customs have been forgotten, they have lived their development thus as they could, with the aim to satisfy the living and to give expression of human grief, pain, enthusiasm and even hope. In the Greek and Macedonian folk traditions, old beliefs and rites are present today as well in these areas. In some places they have been altered as a result of the contemporary views, and in some rural areas are almost identical as in the time when they first appeared. The aim is to show the similarities and differences within the scope of the funeral and magical - ritual actions between these two folk traditions that begin immediately after the death of a loved one and continue until the funeral. This paper will also offer a comparative analysis of the funeral customs between the Greek and the Macedonian folk tradition by observing the rudiments of the funeral customs that were practiced in the past. In certain cases they have been altered as a result of modern views, and in some rural areas they have remained unchanged [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the proceeding "To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice" held at South East European University (SEEU) in Tetovo, Macedonia in June 2015. It informs the role of Magna Carta in the basis of the constitutional order of England were discussed at the event. It acknowledges the several people' support for publishing of papers in this volume of periodical.

The article presents views of the U.S. Ambassador Charles Garrett on importance of the Magna Carta for global democratic trends and informs that Garrett presented his views in a conference that was held at Macedonia in 2015.