THE POSITION OF MINORS IN THE SUBSTANTIVE CRIMINAL LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Abstract

Analysing the position of minors in the criminal substantive law of Serbia, the author makes concrete proposals for improving the position of minors as victims and defendants both in the Criminal Code and in the Law on Juvenile Offenders and Criminal Protection of Minors. The intense reform efforts expressed in the last period should, in the author’s opinion, overcome particular changes and lead to the adoption of a new Law on Juvenile Offenders and Criminal Protection of Minors. Also, it is necessary to improve some provisions of the Criminal Code and regulate the institutes that exist in practice, as the doctrine says a lot about them, but they do not have their place in positive criminal substantive law. The author divided the discussion into two problem sections. One is the analysis of the position of minors as defendants (age limit for the responsibility of minors for criminal acts, the responsibility of other persons for criminal acts committed by children, as well as aspects related to the purpose and system of sanctions for minors) and the other is the enhanced protection of minors as injured parties in the general and special part of the Criminal Code. An integral part of the work is the analysis of the provisions of the most important international and regional legal instruments in this area and the practice of the Constitutional Court of Serbia when it comes to injured minors as applicants of constitutional appeals.