A/HRC/13/40/Add.2 lead to discriminatory differentiation between “established churches”, “religious communities” and minority “religious groups”. Consequently, only 18 of 24 communities were reregistered automatically. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that the 1998 cut-off date for maintaining existent legal personality pursuant to article 35 of the 2007 Law on the Legal Status of a Church, a Religious Community and a Religious Group seems to be arbitrary. In addition, while the Constitution also refers to “other religious communities and religious groups”, it explicitly names only five communities in its amendment VII, thus establishing an implicit hierarchy. 38. By letter of 18 December 2009, the Government informed the Special Rapporteur that 4 applications for registration of churches,19 4 applications for registration of religious communities20 and 16 applications for registration of religious groups21 have been filed since 1 May 2008, of which five applications have been granted so far. Several interlocutors informed the Special Rapporteur during her mission about implementation problems with regard to the new registration procedures under the 2007 Law on the Legal Status of a Church, a Religious Community and a Religious Group. These problems refer to the lack of resources and attention being devoted to registration applications, despite the tight deadlines provided for in articles 12 to 14 of the law. In addition, the law has allegedly been interpreted widely to include a possibility for the judge to study outside materials to ensure that the sources of teaching and liturgy for any new applicant are different than for any existing registered church. However, its article 10 only requires that the name and official insignia of a church, religious community and a religious group shall be different from the names and official insignia of already registered churches, religious communities and religious groups. 39. Intra-religious frictions between different streams have led to practical problems, especially for smaller or schismatic religious communities when they seek a separate registration with the competent State authorities. In 2004, for example, the Commission for Relations with Religious Communities and Religious Groups denied as ill-founded the application for registration of the “Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid”. In reasoning its decision, the Commission stated that the request for registration of the religious group “Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid” was only formal cover for the organization and activity of a parallel religious community. The Commission argued that the name “Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid” contained the name of the existing religious community “Macedonian Orthodox Church” and was therefore contrary to the statutory provision applicable at that time which stipulated that the name of a new religious group should differ from the names of already registered religious communities.22 Following an appeal, the Second Instance Government Commission confirmed the decision of the first instance body. This registration practice has been criticized by civil society organizations as undue interference by the State, ultimately protecting church monism and thus providing exclusivity of Orthodoxy on the territory of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The case is currently pending at the level of the European Court of Human Rights. 19 20 21 22 Two applications for registration of churches were rejected due to the lack of complete documentation, one application was granted and one application was withdrawn. One application for registration of religious communities was rejected and three applications were withdrawn. Four applications for registration of religious groups were rejected as unfounded, seven applications rejected due to the lack of complete documentation, four applications were granted and one application was withdrawn. Article 12, para. 1, of the 1997 Law on Religious Communities and Religious Groups; see also article 10, para. 1, of the 2007 Law on the Legal Status of a Church, a Religious Community and a Religious Group. 13