SEESAC. 2021 ‘Problems Surrounding Domestic Violence as Grounds for Rejecting Firearm License - North Macedonia.’ 2022 SEESAC Gender Analysis Report - North Macedonia, pp. 8-9. Belgrade: South Eastern and Eastern Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons. 23 December

Relevant contents

While these important legal provisions aim to restrict access to firearms or remove them in the case of domestic violence, several issues have been documented that remain yet to be addressed so that the effectiveness of the legislative framework might be further enhanced:

1. Most domestic violence goes unreported to institutions, which places particular importance on background checks/security vetting as a potentially effective tool towards preventing firearm misuse in the context of domestic violence.

2. Currently, security vetting per the requirements prescribed in Article 12 of the Law on Weapons, including "domestic violence" and "severely disrupted family relationships," is conducted primarily on the basis of the official records kept by relevant institutions. An authorized official in the Ministry of the Interior is obliged within 30 days of the receipt of a request to acquire evidence on whether the applicant meets the legally prescribed requirements. However, security vetting procedures do not provide firm and comprehensive guidance on the assessment as to whether firearms could be misused in a domestic violence context, unless it has been reported. For instance, the legislation does not mandate that interviews be conducted with current and former partners and other family members, including neighbours, which could provide insight into whether the acquisition of firearms would place an intimate partner or child in reasonable fear or danger of the use of firearms in any form of domestic violence, including psychological violence and threatening. In addition, there are no provisions for mandatory consultation with the Centre for Social Work or for checking the applicant's history of domestic violence. Also, the Law on Weapons and associated bylaws do not contain specific provisions that legally prescribe the obligation of a competent institution to notify the spouse or close family member(s) during the process of an applicant's seeking to obtain a license.

3. According to the current legal provisions, when verifying whether an applicant meets the requirement stipulating that an applicant has not been "legally convicted for a criminal act committed with intent, which is prosecuted ex officio," the criminal act of causing Bodily Injury from Article 130, para. 2 of the Criminal Code may not be considered as evidence, an accused criminal act for which prosecution is undertaken ex officio (with a previously submitted report of domestic violence by the victim within 90 days of the moment of the violence).

4. Decisions on an issued temporary restraining order for the prevention of acts of domestic violence are not explicitly prescribed in the Law on Weapons as part of the requirements for security vetting. Given that this procedure can be initiated parallel to the criminal procedure, more specific regulation is required in this context.

5. While all forms of domestic violence are criminalized by the Criminal Code (consolidated version, 248/2018), there is no specific provision stating whether all forms of domestic violence such as physical, psychological, sexual, and economic, among others, are considered when determining that "domestic violence" has not occurred as a requirement for obtaining a firearm if such forms/instances have not been legally sanctioned. Implementation of the above-mentioned measures could lead to better prevention and inhibition of domestic violence. Bearing in mind that other forms of gender-based violence are to be legally regulated in the immediate future, including the act of stalking, it should be emphasized that all such forms must be considered as well.

Last accessed at:
https://www.seesac.org/f/docs/Gender-and-SALW/Gender-Analysis-Report_NORTH-MACEDONIA.pdf

ID: Q15885