Measures for prevention of domestic violence and for protection of victims in Serbia’s legal system with special reference to emergency measures

Over the last two decades, combating domestic violence has been one of our country’s main goals. Serbia is one of the 12 countries that have ratified the Council of Europe Convention on Prevention and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention) before its entry into force on August 1, 2014, and as of June 1, 2017 the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence (LPDV) has been used in Serbia, which was adopted with the aim of regulating in a general and uniform manner the organization and conduct of state authorities and institutions, thereby enabling the effective prevention of domestic violence and the prompt, timely and effective protection and support for victims of domestic violence. Prescribing emergency measures has radically changed the way the victims of domestic violence are protected. In this paper, we will explore and try to answer several questions: what measures are available to state institutions to prevent violence and protect victims; whether the competent authorities and institutions apply these measures and to what extent; whether it was necessary to introduce urgent measures into our legal system and, finally, whether the activities to combat domestic violence so far produce results, that is, whether this negative social phenomenon is sufficiently suppressed

Influence of design parameters on the behaviour of cross-spring pivots

Compliant mechanisms gain at least part of their mobility from the deflection of the flexible member. They are characterised by high precision, possibility of monolithic manufacturing, as well as the absence of backlash and wear. Numerical methods are used in this work to characterise the behaviour of compliant rotational mechanisms, known as cross-spring pivots, aimed at ultrahigh-precision positioning applications. The results obtained by using nonlinear finite element calculations are compared with experimental data reported in literature. The finite element model developed in this way makes it possible to conider the influence of lateral loads and of non-symmetrical pivot configurations where the angle or point of intersection of the leaf springs can be varied. This allows assessing the influence of the cited design parameters on the minimisation of the parasitic shifts of the geometric centre of the pivot, as well as on the minimisation of the variability of the rotational stiffness of the pivot while ensuring its stability. The obtained results allow determining design solutions applicable in ultrahigh-precision positioning applications, e.g. in the production or in handling and assembly of MEMS devices

DYNAMIC VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEM FOR SMART WASTE COLLECTION

This paper examines waste management problems in urban areas and analyzes systems employed in waste management. The first part of the paper focuses on waste collection and transport activities in urban systems, as well as on understanding the causes behind the ineffectiveness of traditional waste collection systems. A smart waste collection container prototype is presented with the aim of achieving more efficient waste collection, coupled with the application of modern information and communication technologies in waste collection and transport systems. The waste collection problem is defined as a dynamic CVRP. To solve this problem, a methodology is proposed based on heuristics for defining optimal dynamic routes so as to minimize total costs, that is, transport costs

The role of the police in combating domestic violence in misdemeanor proceedings

Nasilje u porodici je tema koja je zaokupljala veliku pažnju i kojom su se prvenstveno bavile mnoge nevladine organizacije za zaštitu ženskih prava u razvijenim državama Evrope i sveta u drugoj polovini prošlog veka, a kod nas je bavljenje ovim društvenim problemom dostiglo vrhunac krajem prošlog i početkom 21. veka. Međunarodne organizacije (UN, EU), kao i većina razvijenih država u svetu, pod pritiskom nevladinog sektora prepoznale su nasilje u porodici kao jednu od najvećih savremenih društvenih opasnosti, pri čemu su preduzete određene mere, kroz zakonsko određivanje ove pojave kao društveno neprihvatljive i društveno opasne, na sprečavanju i suzbijanju iste. Pri tome, u većini država nasilje u porodici je sankcionisano kroz krivičnopravni sistem. Kod nas je izmenama Krivičnog zakonika 2002. godine ova pojava definisana kao krivično delo. Međutim, to ne znači da je nasilje u porodici bilo dozvoljeno, zato što su i do tada u krivičnom zakonodavstvu postojala mnoga krivična dela sa elementima nasilja kroz koja se kažnjavalo i nasilje izvršeno u porodici. Imajući u vidu da je ovaj broj NBP – Žurnala za kriminalistiku i pravo posvećen profesoru Ljubiši Lazareviću, na samom početku ističemo njegovo mišljenje, gde on naglašava da je po sredstvima izvršenja i posledici krivično delo nasilje u porodici identično sa nekim drugim krivičnim delima, kao što su prinuda, teška telesna povreda, laka telesna povreda i ugrožavanje sigurnosti, ali da neće postojati njegov idealni sticaj sa ovim delima, već samo nasilje u porodici, za koje su, uostalom, propisane i teže kazne. Takođe, kod nas je nasilje u porodici sankcionisano i kroz prekršajnopravni sistem, i to putem prekršaja sa elementima nasilja iz oblasti Zakona o javnom redu i miru. U ovom radu bavićemo se načinima suzbijanjem ove pojave kroz eventualno vođenje prekršajnog postupka, pri čemu ćemo prikazati prednosti i nedostatke ovakvog načina sankcionisanja nasilja u porodici.Domestic violence is a topic that has drawn great attention and that mainly has been the subject of many nongovernmental organizations for the protection of women’s rights in the developed countries of Europe and the world in the second half of the last century, while in Serbia, dealing with this social problem peaked at the turn of 21st century. International organizations (UN, EU), as well as the majority of developed countries in the world, under the pressure of the non-governmental sector have recognized domestic violence as one of the greatest contemporary social threats. Certain measures to prevent and combat domestic violence have been undertaken, through the legal defining of these phenomena as socially unacceptable and socially dangerous. In addition, in most countries, domestic violence is sanctioned through the criminal justice system. In Serbia, through the amendments to the Criminal Code of 2002, this phenomenon has been defined as a criminal offense. However, this does not mean that domestic violence was allowed, because even until then the criminal legislation contained many crimes with elements of violence through which domestic violence was punished. Taking into account that this number of “NBP – Journal of Criminalistics and Law” is dedicated to professor Ljubiša Lazarević, his opinion on this subject should be pointed out – he emphasized that by means of execution and consequences, criminal offence of domestic violence is identical with some other criminal offences, such as coercion, grievous bodily harm, light bodily injury, endangering safety, but that its ideal concurrence with these offences would not exist, but only domestic violence, for which, after all, more severe punishments are prescribed. In addition, in our country, domestic violence is sanctioned through the misdemeanor system – through misdemeanors with elements of violence from the area of the Law on Public Order and Peace. In this paper, the author will discuss ways to combat this phenomenon through possible misdemeanor proceedings, and present the advantages and disadvantages of this way of sanctioning of domestic violence

The role of the police in the system of enforcement of alternative sanctions and measures

U radu se analizira primena pojedinih alternativnih sankcija i mera u praksi, kao i uloga policije u sistemu izvršenja istih, sa posebnim akcentom na kontrolu izvršenja kućnog zatvora, uslovne osude sa zaštitnim nadzorom, uslovne osude koja se može opozvati ako dođe do kršenja mere bezbednosti „zabrane prisustvovanja određenim sportskim priredbama“ i „kućnog pritvora“. Tako usmereno istraživanje imalo je za cilj da se u metodološki ispravnom postupku identifikuju i naučno opišu ključni problemi u postupanju državnih organa i ustanova koje izriču, sprovode i vrše kontrolu nad izvršenjem vanzavodskih sankcija i mera propisanih zakonom. Primenom metoda analize sadržaja, statističkog metoda, komparativne i formalno-logičke analize u radu je analizirano više primera iz prakse suda, poverničke službe i Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova uporedo sa analizom rezultata aktuelnih teorijskih istraživanja i relevantnih pravnih propisa i akata. Kao ključni problemi identifikovane su nedorečenosti u postupcima: izricanja i određivanja alternativnih sankcija i mera, njihovom sprovođenju i kontroli izvršenja. Zaključcima izvedenim sintezom tih rezultata kao ključni uzroci opisanih problema potvrđeni su: 1) nedonošenje ili neblagovremeno donošenje podzakonskih propisa i 2) selektivna primena zakona. Posledica uočenih problema je nizak stepen zaštite žrtve i neostvarivanje ciljeva specijalne prevencijeThe author analyses the application of certain alternative criminal sanctions and measures in practice, as well as the role of the police in the enforcement system, with a special emphasis on the control of the execution of house arrest, conditional sentence with protective supervision, the conditional sentence that may be repelled if the security measure is breached, the ban on attending certain sports events, as well as house arrest. Such a study aimed at identify and scientifically describe, in the proper methodological procedure, the key problems in the practice of state authorities and institutions imposing, enforcing and controlling the enforcement of extra-carceral sanctions and measures prescribed by the Law. By applying the method of content analysis, statistical method, comparative and formal and logical analysis, the author has examined several examples from the practice of courts, the commissioner’s department and the Ministry of Interior. In parallel, he analyzed the results of the current theoretical research and the relevant legislation. The key issues that were identified is the ambiguity of procedure: the imposing and ordering alternative sanctions and measures, the implementation and control thereof. The conclusion confirmed the roots of the said above described problems: 1) the failure to adopt or timely adopt the proper bylaws and 2) selective application of the Law. The consequences is a low level of protection of the victims and the failure to achieve the goals of special prevention

Problems in court practice with determining certain elements of the offenses under the article 246 and 246a of the criminal code of Serbia

Unauthorized production and trafficking of narcotic drugs is a criminal offense the Police and the Public Prosecution Office separate significant material and human resources for its prevention.This work is primarly about crime analysis, i.e. problems in collecting the evidence and difficulty in determining the elements of the offense. In this particular prosecutorial and police work in practice, a large number of problems are diagnosed. The offenses related to abuse of narcotic drugs due to imprecise law formulations often provide inadequate qualification and application of the provision of the Criminal Code favourable for the perpetrator. As we shall see, very often it is proved that they committed the criminal offense under Article 246 or its qualification into 246a as a lump term of these provisions provide relatively simple qualification of use of narcotic drugs for personal use, without any drug dealing. In practice we have a large number of cases where “drug dealers” are convicted in a short time for possession of various narcotic drugs (cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, marijuana, etc.) for “personal use”. A number of questions can be asked. Did the police and other criminal authorities use all possible ways to prove the unauthorized sale of narcotics? Is it necessary to make changes and amendments of the specified Criminal Code provisions to make them more precise? Does the number of different kinds of addicts (drug addicts) who consume more types of narcotic drugs increase? We will try to answers these questions and through examples from Court practice show the work of the police, public prosecutors and judges in detecting and proving the illicit traffic of narcotic drugs

Criminal offence of unlawful manufacture, possession, carrying, and sale of weapons and explosives : Criminalistic and criminal law analysis of the

Ilegalno posedovanje i promet oružja je uvek aktuelna tema, posmatrajući institucionalne i pravne kapacitete države, ali i pitanje prestiža u kriminalnim sredinama. Dodatni problem predstavlja činjenica da je velika količina oružja nakon završenih oružanih sukoba, kojih je bilo dosta kroz istoriju srpskog naroda, ostajala u posedu građana. Tako oružje - najčešće legalno dobijeno od organa državne vlasti, prelazi u ilegalni posed jer država nema evidencije o istom. Oružje u ilegalnom posedu, mnogo češće od onog u legalnom posedu, postaje sredstvo izvršenja najtežih krivičnih dela, ali i objekat radnje. Razlog je lako uočljiv - teško mu je ući u trag. Kako bi se smanjila količina takvog oružja u posedu građana država primenjuje različit spektar mera. Kada je reč o uređivanju pravne materije legalnog posedovanja oružja prima ratio je Zakon o oružju i municiji (ZOOM). Pored otkrivanja i dokazivanja krivičnih dela i prekršaja, policiji je dat još niz ovlašćenja i nadležnosti preventivnog i represivnog karaktera koje Zakon o policiji nije propisao.1 Zakonska legalizacija je jedan od načina kada, na osnovu člana 46. ZOOM, ministar unutrašnjih poslova raspisuje legalizaciju oružja i municije. Međutim, u nekim slučajevima potrebno je reagovati krivičnopravnim odredbama. U članu 348. Krivičnog zakonika (KZ) propisano je krivično delo nedozvoljene proizvodnje, držanja, nošenja i prometa oružja i eksplozivnih materija. U ovom radu bavićemo se kriminalističkom i krivičnopravnom analizom ovog krivičnog dela, pri čemu ćemo sagledati i teorijske i praktične aspekte. Takođe, ukazaćemo i na kaznenu politiku (zakonodavnu i sudsku) u periodu od 2010-2014. godine za ovo krivično delo.Unlawful possession and trade of weapons is always a topical issue, in terms of institutional and legal capacities of a state, as well as a matter of prestige in criminal circles. Additional problem is the fact that a vast amount of weapons, after armed conflicts –and there has been a lot of them throughout the history of Serbian nation – has remained in the possession of the citizens. Such weapons – most often legally obtained from the state authorities – have moved to illegal possession since the state did not have any records on them. Illegally possessed weapons, more frequently than those legally possessed, become means of execution of most serious criminal offences, as well as the object of actus reus. The reason is obvious – it is difficult to trace them. In order to decrease the amount of such weapons in possession of the citizens, the state applies a range of measures. When it comes to regulating legal matter on unlawful possession of weapons, prima ratio is the Law on Weapons and Ammunition. Legal amnesty is one of the ways of legalization of weapons, when based on the Article 46 of this Law, the Minister of Interior declares a weapon and ammunition amnesty. However, in some cases it is necessary to react by applying criminal law provisions. The Article 348 of the Criminal Code provides for the criminal offence Unlawful Manufacture, Possession, Carrying, and Sale of Weapons and Explosives. In this paper, the authors have dealt with the criminalistic and criminal law analysis of this criminal offence, by considering its theoretical and practical aspects. In addition, the authors have analysed the penal policy as well, both legislative and judiciary, for the period 2010–2014

Suppression and prevention of violent behaviour at sport event or public gathering

Posle mnogobrojnih tragedija na evropskim sportskim stadionima, Savet Evrope je još 1985. u Strazburu usvojio Evropsku konvenciju o nasilju i nedoličnom ponašanju gledalaca na sportskim priredbama, posebno na fudbalskim utakmicama. Naša država je ratifikovala istu 1990. 1 Nasilje navijačkih grupa predstavljalo je sve značajniji bezbednosni problem i u Republici Srbiji. To je jedan od razloga što je 2003. donet poseban zakon koji se bavi samo ovom materijom, Zakon o sprečavanju nasilja i nedoličnog ponašanja na sportskim priredbama.2 Rezultati istraživanja nam govore da je kaznena politika sudova blaga bez obzira što je stvarna nadležnost za postupanje po krivičnim delima dodeljena višim javnim tužilaštvima i sudovima (znači od zakonodavca je prepoznat veći stepen društvene opasanosti), i što su zakonom zaprećene relativno visoke kazne, na većinu učinilaca biva primenjen oportunitet krivičnog gonjenja ili budu osuđeni uslovnim osudama. Mali broj je onih koji budu osuđeni kaznom zatvora. Pored toga, jedno istraživanje ograničeno na malu teritoriju nam pokazuje da su u većini postupaka vođenih zbog učinjenog nasilja na sportskim priredbama osumnjičeni igrači i treneri. Da li to znači da je država svoju oštricu represivnog postupanja usmerila prvenstveno prema neposrednim, aktivnim učesnicima sportske priredbe a ne prema navijačima, što je inače, sa stanovišta doktrine veoma sporno. Ako se rezultati istraživanja, koje ne mora biti reprezentativno jer se odnosi samo na jedan upravni okrug u Srbiji3 , primeni na celu teritoriju Republike, možemo izvesti zaključak da su kao nasilnici prvensveno prepoznati igrači i treneri. Da li je to bio ratio legis te odredbe?After many tragedies on European sport stadiums, in 1985. European Council adopted European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches. Our state ratified the Convention in 1990. Football fans related violence represented more significant problem in the Republic of Serbia, also. That was one of the reasons for adoption of special law in 2003., dealing only with this matter, Law on suppression of violence and misbehaviour at sports events. Research results tell us that the courts’ penal politics is too mild, regardless of the fact that the substance matter jurisdiction is delegated to higher prosecutors and courts (meaning that the lawmaker recognized higher degree of socilal danger) and the fact that the law prescribes relatively high punishments, on majority of perpetrators the institute of deferring criminal prosecutionis applied, or the courts pronounce suspended sentences. Negligible number of perpetrators is sentenced with imprisonment. Besades that, one research, limited to small territory, shows us that the players and coaches are main suspects in majority of proceedings related to misbehaviour at sports events. Does it mean that the state pointed its represive action blade towards direct, immediate participants of sports events, and not towards fans, which is otherwise, from the the doctrine’s point of view, very disputable. If we apply the results of the research, which does not have to be representative because includes only one administrative district, on the whole territory of the Republic of Serbia, we can conclude that the players and coaches are primarly recognized as violators. Was it the ratio legis of the particular regulation

Safety measure “Ban on Attendance at Certain Sporting Events” in practice of police and the judiciary

Zakonom o izmenama i dopunama Krivičnog zakonika Republike Srbije iz 2009. godine, prvi put, u sistem krivičnih sankcija uvedena je mera bezbednosti „zabrana prisustvovanja određenim sportskim priredbama“.3 Ratio legis zakonodavca je bio efikasna i intenzivna borba protiv nasilja na sportskim takmičenjima. U ovom radu prikazaćemo, na primerima iz prakse, na koji način se primenjuje ova mera bezbednosti, i koji su pozitivni, odnosno negativni efekti ovakvog zakonskog regulisanja mera usmerenih na suzbijanje nasilja na sportskim priredbama u Republici Srbiji. Takođe, izvršićemo analizu sudskih presuda, donetih na teritoriji Kolubarskog upravnog okruga od trenutka stupanja na snagu ovog člana zakona do danas, kojima su izrečene mere bezbednosti „zabrana prisustvovanja određenim sportskim priredbama“. Analiziraćemo i načine (ne)izvršenja pojedinih sudskih odluka, zbog mnogobrojnih objektivnih i subjektivnih razloga. Kroz rad ćemo se posebno osvrnuti na postupanje policije, koja je zadužena za praćenje izvršenje mera bezbednosti, odnosno obaveštavanje suda o sprovođenju donetih presuda, kao i na reakciju suda na obaveštenja da se njihove pravnosnažne odluke ne sprovode. Na kraju ćemo odgovoriti na postavljeno pitanje i zaključiti da li je suzbijanje nasilja na sportskim priredbama efikasno u našem pravnom sistemu.The Law Amending the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia of 2009 has introduced for the first time the safety measure “Ban on Attendance at Certain Sporting Events” in Serbian criminal sanctions system. Ratio legis of the legislator was efficient and intense fight against violence at sporting events. This paper will present, using the practical examples, in which way this measure is implemented, as well as what positive and negative effects are of such a legal regulation of measures directed at suppression of violence at sporting events in the Republic of Serbia. Also, we shall analyze the court decisions reached in the territory of Kolubara District from the moment when this Article of the Law came into effect until today, which delivered the safety measure of “Ban on Attendance at Certain Sporting Events”. We shall also analyze the manners of carrying out or failures to carry out certain judicial decisions due to many objective and subjective reasons. We shall particularly give a review of the actions of the police, who are in charge of monitoring the implementation of safety measures, i.e. notifying the court on the implementation of the judicial decisions, as well as of the response by the court to the notification that their final judgments are not carried out. Finally, we shall answer the question posed and conclude whether the suppression of violence at sporting events is efficient within our legal system