CRIMINAL OFFENCE INTERCOURSE WITH A CHILD WITH REFERENCE TO THE PROBLEM OF INTERCOURSE IN THE ROMA POPULATION

Abstract

In the middle of 2019, the Court of Appeals in Belgrade passed a controversial verdict acquitting the defendant of the accusation that he committed the crime of intercourse with a child. The basis of the acquittal was found by the Court in the institute of legal error, and this decision divided the legal experts into two opposing groups. The final position was taken by the Supreme Court of Cassation when it determined that such a verdict violated the law in favor of the defendant. In this paper, the author deals with the crime of intercourse with a child, with special reference to the issue of intercourse in the Roma population. The author will first explain the act of committing this crime, then she will analyze the institute of legal error, and then she will deal with the peculiarities of the Roma national minority in the part related to intercourse with a child. The author will discuss the relationship between customs and positive legal norms, citing relevant legal acts, and will dedicate part of the paper to the issue of potential discrimination against the victim of the crime in question. At the very end, the author will analyze the current judgments of the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Cassation through these aspects, while giving concluding remarks on this topic.