THE CHILDREN IN THE MACEDONIAN TORT LAW

Abstract

The position of the children in the tort law is a very specific one. It is a fact that a child could physically cause a damage to the property or to the immaterial values of someone else. However, it is also a fact that in the different stages of the mental development of a child, their understanding of their own conduct and the consequences thereof varies. On the other hand, once the damage has occurred it cannot be left uncompensated for. The injured party should not suffer the consequences of the acts of someone else. So, a question rises who will be liable for the damage. In the same time a child may suffer a damage to their property but more often to their person and personal rights, especially to their right to life and health. The consequences of such damage may not be the same as the one an adult may experience. Here we have a question on how this damage will be treated by the law.

The Macedonian tort law provides answers to these questions. The objective of this research is to analyse what is the position of the children in the cases of non-contractual liability for damage and is the law providing for sufficient mechanisms for protection of their rights. The solutions present in the national law are compared and analysed vis-à-vis the ones that exist in the states of former SFRY, having in mind the same legal tradition. In regard to the liability for damage the rules of the German and the French law as specific models for the liability for damage in the civil law system. The author concludes that the existing mechanisms on the Macedonian tort law system provide for adequate and sufficient protection of children in torts.