ALTERNATIVE MEASURE POLICE WARNING AGAINST MINORS IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA (2020-2024)

Abstract

Following international standards in the field of protection and treatment of children and minors, and following the example of modern legislative systems, in 2010, in the Republic of Srpska, for the first time, as a lex specialis, the Law on Protection and Treatment of Children and Minors in criminal procedure (hereinafter: Law on Juveniles) was enacted. The Law on Juveniles systematically regulates the issue of protection and treatment of children and minors in criminal proceedings in the Republic of Srpska. One of the most significant novelties of the Law on Juveniles is the introduction of an alternative measure for minors called the Police Warning. Following the example of the afore mentioned Law on Juveniles with amendments to the Law on Misdemeanors of the Republic of Srpska from 2014, a special sui generis warning measure called Police warning was also introduced in it. Given the fact that a sufficient period has already passed since the introduction of this measure, certain conclusions can be drawn regarding its practical application. Therefore, in this paper, the authors will first point out the legal provisions of this alternative measure for minors, both in the criminal and in misdemeanor law of the Republic of Srpska, and then, through the statistical processing of data on the issued police warnings in the period from 2020 to 2024, they will look at the practical application of this measure.