Background

There is no legal recognition of same-sex relationships in North Macedonia. The Law on Family (Macedonian: Закон за семејството,^[5] Zakon za semejstvoto; Albanian: Ligji për familjen) defines marriage as "a living community of a man and a woman regulated by law."^[6] Article 15 of the Law on Family also states that "a marriage may be stipulated by two persons of different gender with a freely expressed will before a competent authority, in a manner stipulated by this law."^[7]

Attempts to pass constitutional ban

The Constitution of North Macedonia does not expressly prohibit same-sex marriages. Article 40 states:^[8]

The legal relations in marriage, the family and cohabitation are regulated by law.^{[lower-alpha 2]}

In September 2013, a proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage as a union between "a man and a woman" failed to meet the required two-thirds majority in the Assembly of North Macedonia.^[11]

In late June 2014, the re-elected ruling party, VMRO-DPMNE, once again submitted a bill, this time hoping that the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA) would provide the additional votes needed to pass it.^[12] On 9 January 2015, the parliamentary committee on constitutional issues approved the amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage. On 20 January, the amendment was approved in Parliament by 72 votes to 4.^[13] "Today's vote is another addition to discrimination, violence and intolerance on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in Macedonia.", said a spokesman for Amnesty International.^[14] A final vote was required for the amendment to be added to the Constitution. This final parliamentary session was commenced on 26 January but never concluded, as the ruling coalition did not obtain the two-thirds majority required. Eventually, the amendment failed, and the Constitution was not modified to prohibit same-sex marriages.^[15]