Marriage Dissolution (Divorce) – A Comparison Overview: Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia

Abstract

The research includes the marriage dissolution and its consequences, which constitute today one of the most debated topics, considering not only the significant increase of the number of divorces in years, but also the trends in recent years in some European countries. Thus, this paper presents the hypothesis as follows: The Institute of dissolution of marriage in Albanian, Kosovo and Macedonian Law which preserves and must preserve the balance between the contractual freedom of the spouses and the court's intervention to dissolve the marriage in order to avoid abuses that may result from the "privatization" of the marriage dissolution and its consequences. Taking the cause precisely from the latter, the question arises whether the dissolution of marriage, as the institution that lies between private and public law, should be given priority to the solutions offered by the spouses ("the privatization of the institution"), or should public law be governed by the regulation of the institution, in the context of the special protection that the marriage and family enjoy by the State? From what is said above it is necessary to analyze by comparative approach the normative framework, legal doctrine and the case studies of these countries, regarding the dissolution of the marriage and the consequences it brings. The European countries and the tendency to harmonize family law in Europe will serve as orientation point to analyze the solutions currently offered by Albanian, Kosovo and Macedonian law as well as to provide the necessary recommendations. In particular, the subject of analysis is the reasons for the dissolution of marriage, the ways and the procedural aspects of its solution, the consequences on both personally and property terms between the spouses.