Commercial law in Macedonia after 1990

• Author: Endri Papajorgji, Rezarta Tahiraj
• Pages: 276-282

STUDIES AND COMMENTS

Commercial law in Macedonia after 1990

Associate professor Endri PAPAJORGJI1

Associate professor Rezarta TAHIRAJ2

Abstract

With the Declaration of Independence of 17.11.1991 and the entry in to force of the

Constitution on 20.11.1991, Macedonia wa s free to draft its own legislation. But the

difficult internal and external situation, the unofficial imposition of the Greek emb argo

since the end of 1991, and the UN embargo on Yugoslavia, which brough t losses of US $ 80

million a month to the new state, had a negative impact on the legislative process3. The

1990 (!) amended Yugoslav company law of 1988,4 which replaced the Organization of

Associated Labour as a basic economic subject with the "co mmercial companies" as a new

legal concept,5 organized the economic life in public companies and limited liability

companies. All Art.s that regulated the economic organizations in Yugoslavia were

abolished. This amendment was in force until 30.5.1996. In this sense, main objective of

this manuscript is the analysis of the commercial law reforms in Macedonia after the fall of

communism towards a free market economy and EU membership.

Keywords: commercial law, Macedonia, reform, free market economy.

JEL Classification: K22

1. Introduction

Although the legislative changes in Yugoslavia in the late 1980s could no

longer trigger decisive modernization impulses, this phase of legislation was

necessary for the subsequent legal developments toward free market economy for

Macedonia. In 1996, the Macedonian Commercial Code (HGB), the "Law on

Commercial Companies"6 came into force. This law consisted of 728 Art.s and

contained quite extensive regulations. 7 It regulated:

 the merchant concept,

 transfer of trade names,

 private and commercial companies,

1 Endri Papajorgji - Dean of the Faculty o f Law at Tirana Business University College, Tirana,

Albania, endripapajorgji@hotmail.com.

2 Rezarta Tahiraj - Chief of Department of Law at Aleksander Xhuvani University, Elbasan, Albania,

rtahiraj.uniel@gmail.com.

3 Schrameyer, K., Die Verfassung der Republik Makedonien vom 17 November 1991, JOR 2008, 413.

4 Art 6–14 of the law on amendments to the law on economic enterprises of 1990.

5 Borić, T., Eigentum und Privatisierung in Kroatien und Ungarn – Wandel des Eigentums-

rechtssystems und Entwicklung der Privatisierungsgesetzgebung, Wien, 1996, 99.

6 Zakon za trgovski društva (Gesetz über die Handelsgesellschaften) Sl V RM 1996/28.

7 Jashari, A., Subjektet e së drejtës afariste, Tetovo, 2009, 36.