The New Civil Procedure Act: What Changes Does It Bring?

Civil procedure is the legal mechanism through which individuals and legal entities enforce and protect their rights before the courts in civil disputes. The Civil Procedure Act (CPA) establishes the rules governing these proceedings. While its fundamental principles have remained largely unchanged for many years, recent reforms, such as increased digitalisation and a greater emphasis on alternative dispute resolution are transforming the way justice is administered. Following more than a decade of application of the current Civil Procedure Act, on 8 July 2026, the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia adopted a new Civil Procedure Act aimed at creating a faster, more efficient and more modern judicial process, aligned with European standards. In this article, we explain the key changes introduced by the new Act, what they will mean for litigants, lawyers and the business community, and why there was a need for a new legislative framework.

Faster Court Proceedings

One of the primary objectives of the new Act is to significantly reduce the duration of civil proceedings. To achieve this, it introduces rules requiring courts to identify the disputed issues at an early stage, concentrate the evidentiary process and prevent unnecessary delays.

Parties will be expected to present all relevant facts and evidence during the early stages of the proceedings, rather than submitting them gradually throughout the litigation. This reduces opportunities for tactical delays and enables courts to reach decisions more efficiently.

For businesses, this means faster resolution of commercial disputes and greater legal certainty.

Greater Digitalisation of Civil Proceedings

A modern judiciary cannot function effectively without digital tools. Accordingly, the new Civil Procedure Act further expands electronic communication between courts, lawyers and the parties to the proceedings.

Electronic service of court documents will play an increasingly important role, reducing administrative delays and enabling cases to be processed more efficiently. This represents another step towards the modernisation of the judicial system and closer alignment with European judicial practices.

New Rules on Service of Documents

In practice, the service of court documents has often been one of the main causes of delays in civil proceedings. In many cases, parties intentionally avoided accepting court documents, resulting in litigation being prolonged for several months.

The new Act clarifies the rules governing proper service and limits the opportunities for abuse of this procedural mechanism. As a result, proceedings are expected to continue without unnecessary interruptions caused by procedural issues relating to service.

More Efficient Expert Evidence

Expert opinions are an essential part of many court proceedings, but they are also one of the most common reasons for lengthy litigation. The new Act introduces clearer rules regarding the appointment of expert witnesses, deadlines for submitting expert reports and increased accountability where experts fail to meet those deadlines without justification.

These changes are intended to improve the quality of the evidentiary process while reducing the time required to obtain expert findings and opinions.

Faster Resolution of Small Claims

A significant number of court cases concern relatively low value monetary claims. Despite their limited financial value, these disputes often take just as long to resolve as far more complex litigation.

The new Act introduces simplified procedural rules for small claims, enabling them to be resolved more quickly and with fewer formalities. This is particularly important for individuals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, which frequently encounter such disputes.

Representative Actions, A New Feature of Macedonian Law

One of the most significant innovations introduced by the new Act is the introduction of representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers.

Under these provisions, authorised organisations will be able to initiate court proceedings on behalf of a larger group of consumers whose rights have been infringed by the same trader or service provider.

This represents an important step towards harmonisation with European standards on collective consumer protection and enables more effective enforcement of consumer rights in situations where individual lawsuits would not be practical.

What Does The New Act Mean For Businesses?

For the business community, the new Civil Procedure Act brings positive expectations. Faster resolution of commercial disputes will provide greater legal certainty, facilitate business planning and reduce the costs associated with lengthy litigation.

Businesses will also need to pay greater attention to preparing evidence and developing their litigation strategy from the very beginning of a dispute, as the new procedural rules leave considerably less room for introducing additional procedural actions during the later stages of the proceedings.

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Conclusion

The new Civil Procedure Act represents an ambitious reform whose primary objective is to create a faster, more efficient and more modern judiciary. Although legislative changes alone cannot immediately resolve all the challenges facing the judicial system, they provide a solid foundation for more organised and higher-quality civil proceedings.

Nevertheless, the success of the reform will depend not only on the wording of the legislation but, above all, on its practical implementation. For the reform to achieve its intended objectives, judges, lawyers, expert witnesses and other legal professionals will need to adapt promptly to the new procedural rules, shorter deadlines and the increased use of digital tools. At the same time, courts will need sufficient human, technical and organisational resources to ensure the consistent application of the new legal framework.

Only if these conditions are met will the new Civil Procedure Act be able to fulfil its fundamental objective: delivering justice more quickly, more efficiently and with higher quality, without compromising the fairness of judicial proceedings.

Although the new Civil Procedure Act has already been adopted, it will not apply immediately. Under its transitional provisions, the Act will become applicable on 18 January 2027, providing courts, lawyers and other participants in civil proceedings with a transitional period to prepare for the implementation of the new procedural framework.

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Note: This article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice. Legal issues can be complex and each situation may have specific circumstances that require individual analysis. For this reason, we recommend consulting a qualified attorney who can provide tailored legal guidance for your particular case.