This information comes from the assessment conducted in country for the Macedonia report, which was published in 2005.
The Macedonian bankruptcy law is modeled, in large part, upon the Croatian law The Croatian law, in turn, is closely modeled on the 1994 German bankruptcy law. Commentators have noted that the law does not take local conditions into account. The main difference from the German/Croatian law, however, is that the Macedonian law contains modifications that bolster workers rights. This is the one area where local conditions (i.e., the need to preserve employment) were incorporated into the legislation.
The Ministry of Justice and the courts are the two main implementing institutions with respect to the bankruptcy law. The Ministry of Economy might also be viewed as an implementing institution with respect to maintaining economic statistics on the number of insolvent enterprises in Macedonia. Additionally, the Ministry of Economy has been mentioned in government documents as participating in decision making concerning the appointment of trustees in individual cases.
Macedonia’s achievements in collateral law are impressive. The cost and convenience of the system was praised, and 27 out of 30 banks and financial institutions participate. As a result, the central bank is moving more money through the commercial banks. This is starting to deliver on the major goal of a collateral registry system – i.e., to increase the availability of credit to the private sector on better terms and interest rates.
