Abstract
This paper analyses harmonization of the criminal law of the Republic of Serbia with the requirements of the Council of Europe on prevention and combating of violence against women and domestic violence—The Istanbul Convention—ten years after the Republic of Serbia signed it. The focus is on newly introduced criminal offenses (female genital mutilation, stalking, sexual harassment and forced marriage) and implementation of new incriminations in practice. The authors also reviewed the criminal offense of domestic violence, its non-harmonization with the requirements of the Istanbul Convention, observed deficiencies concerning the description of the offense, and its implementation in practice (taking into consideration official statistical data and results of relevant researches). The focus is also on certain legal solutions with relation to criminal-legal respond to violence against women, primarily domestic violence (family-legal and administrative-legal solutions). The goal of the paper is to map the deficiencies and suggest the ways for their overcoming which would be in accordance with the requirements of the Istanbul Convention and provide a better, comprehensive respond to violence against women in Serbia.
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Notes
- 1.
Official Gazette of the RS, No. 10/2002.
- 2.
- 3.
Official Gazette of the RS, No. 18/2005.
- 4.
Official Gazette of the RS, No. 98/2006.
- 5.
- 6.
Chart of signatures and ratifications of the Treaty 210.
- 7.
Official Gazette of the RS - International Treaties, No. 12/2013.
- 8.
Official Gazette of the RS, No. 94/2016.
- 9.
Official Gazette of the RS, Nos. 85/05, 88/2005, 107/2005, 72/2009, 111/2009, 121/2012, 104/2013, 108/2014, 94/2016, 35/2019.
- 10.
We can read of sporadic cases in newspapers. Jealous husbands did such crimes, or pimps, in order to hold women under control, or to ensure special services to clients (Blic, 7. 10. 2016. Horrible cases in Serbia: jealous husbands performed female genital mutilations), STRAVIČNI SLUČAJEVI U SRBIJI Ljubomorni muževi sakatili polne organe žena (blic.rs).
- 11.
The Government of the Republic of Serbia (2016), p. 20.
- 12.
- 13.
UNICEF (2021).
- 14.
Official Gazette of the RS, No. 35/2019.
- 15.
- 16.
Jovanović (2015), p. 209.
- 17.
Government of the Republic of Serbia (2016), p. 25.
- 18.
Stojanović (2017), p. 2.
- 19.
Stojanović (2017), pp. 5–6.
- 20.
Parties shall take necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that intentional conduct of repeatedly engaging in threatening conduct directed at another person, causing her/him to fear for her/his safety, is criminalized.
- 21.
(2) If a danger to life, health or body of the person vis-à-vis whom the act was committed, or a person close to him/her has been caused by an act specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, the perpetrator shall be punished with imprisonment of three months to five years. (3) If, due to an act specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, death of another person, or of a person close to him/her occurred, the perpetrator shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years.
- 22.
Mullen et al. (1999), pp. 1246–1247.
- 23.
Criminal Law of Croatia in its Article 140, paragraph 2, stipulates that a serious form is when the victim was a close person, a person who was in intimate relationship with the perpetrator, or his child (Criminal Law of the Republic of Croatia, Official Gazette no. 125/11, 144/12, 56/15, 61/15, 101/17, 118/18, 126/19, 84/21.
- 24.
European Commission (2010), p. 68.
- 25.
Simeunović-Patić and Jovanović (2013), p. 164.
- 26.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2021), p. 8.
- 27.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2019), p. 14.
- 28.
Đorđević (2018), p. 115.
- 29.
CETS 210 - Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (coe.int), p. 35.
- 30.
- 31.
Đokić (2017), p. 553.
- 32.
In accordance with Article 112, para. 8–10 of the CC: a child is a person under fourteen years of age; a minor is a person of fourteen years of age or older who is not yet eighteen; a juvenile is a person who is not eighteen.
- 33.
Đokić (2017), p. 553.
- 34.
Labor Law, Official Gazette of the RS, Nos. 24/2005, 61/2005, 54/2009 (Article 21); Law on Prevention of Mobbing at Work, Official Gazette of the RS, No. 36/2010 (Article 3); Law on Banning of Discrimination, Official Gazette of the RS, No. 22/2009 (Article 12).
- 35.
The Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Criminal Law (Official Gazette of the RS, No 39/2003) incriminates sexual harassment, while Criminal Code from 2005 (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 85/2005) did not incriminate it.
- 36.
Babović and Reljanović (2020), p. 12.
- 37.
Đorđević (2017), p. 136.
- 38.
Since the beginning of implementation of the incrimination, there has been an increase of charges: in 2017 there were 2 charges (and 2 convictions—suspended sentence); in 2018: 105 charges and 26 convictions (16 suspended sentence; 1 imprisonment, and 4 home imprisonment); in 2019: 174 charges and 75 convictions (22 imprisonments and 34 suspended sentence); in 2020: 166 charges, 60 convictions (31 suspended sentences, 14 imprisonments, 12 home imprisonments, 3 fines). From the available data for 2018 and 2019 we see that the share of unknown perpetrators in 2018 was 14%, in 2019—19%, and can contribute to the thesis (regarding the general registered number of charges) that citizens are better informed on this offense and have more courage to report it.
- 39.
UNICEF (2017) points out that in Serbia, child marriage is rare within the general population, but is very common in Roma settlement-segregated communities predominantly or exclusively occupied by ethnic Roma and commonly characterized by high levels of poverty and social exclusion—where more than half of girls (57%) are married before the age of 18 and almost one-fifth (18%) are married before the age of 15.
- 40.
Official Gazette, Nos. 18/2005, 72/2011, 6/2015.
- 41.
“Domestic violence” shall mean all acts of physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence that occur within the family or domestic unit, or between former or current spouses or partners, whether or not the perpetrator shares, or has shared the same residence with the victim.
- 42.
- 43.
Simeunović-Patić and Jovanović (2013), p. 146.
- 44.
CETS 210 - Explanatory Report to the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (coe.int), p. 8.
- 45.
1. spouses or former spouses; 2. children, parents and other blood relatives, and persons in in-law or adoptive relations; 3. common-law partners or former common-law partners; 4. persons who have had sexual relations during 2 years immediately preceding submission of the motion for passing of a protective measure against domestic violence (Article 200, paragraph 3 of the Family Law).
- 46.
Protective measures against domestic violence are: 1. issuing of a warrant for eviction from family apartment or house, regardless of the right on property or lease of an immovable; 2. issuing of a warrant for moving in the family apartment or house, regardless of the right on property or lease of an immovable; 3. restraining order; 4. banning access in the vicinity of the place of residence or work of a family member; 5. ban on further harassment of a family member; 6. mandatory treatment from alcoholism or other substance abuse; 7. mandatory psychiatric counselling or treatment; 8. other measures that may prevent commencement or continuation of domestic violence (Article 201, paragraph 2 of the Family Law).
- 47.
Whoever violates a measure against domestic violence imposed on them by the court in accordance with the law regulating family relations shall be punished with imprisonment of three months to three years and a fine.
- 48.
Istnabul Convention insists on adequate sanctions, appropriate for the severity of the act, which would defer the perpetrator from repeating of the act. The state should stipulate other measures which would ensure safety of victims, which mean supervision over perpetrators (Article 45 of the Convention).
- 49.
The court may forbid the offender to approach the victim, forbid access to the area near where the victim lives and forbid further harassment, or further communication with the victim, if it should be reasonably believed that further exercise of such offender’s actions is dangerous for the victim (Article 89a, paragraph 1).
- 50.
Whoever violates a ban laid down in a passed safety measure shall be fined or punished with imprisonment of up to six months.
- 51.
Petrušić et al. (2018), p. 136.
- 52.
Petrušić et al. (2018), pp. 136–137.
- 53.
- 54.
Stojanović (2012), pp. 3–4.
- 55.
Ćirić et al. (2006), pp. 89–97.
- 56.
- 57.
- 58.
Simeunović-Patić and Jovanović (2013), p. 165.
- 59.
Zakon o preprečevanju nasilja v družini, “Uradni list RS”, br. 16/2008.
- 60.
Sentence of the Supreme Court of Serbia, Kž. 744/05, fm June 30, 2005, and sentence of the District Court in Smederevo, K. 79/04, fm December 30, 2004.
- 61.
(1) In case the perpetrator of a criminal offense committed with premeditation was earlier convicted for a premeditated criminal offense, the court shall consider such circumstance as aggravating, unless five years have passed from the previous conviction or served sentence. (2) In case specified in paragraph 1 of this Article, the court may pronounce a punishment below the limit stipulated by the Law, or a lighter type of punishment, except when the Law states that punishment can be mitigated, or when the Law sets forth that the perpetrator may be remitted from punishment, and the court fails to do so.
- 62.
For a criminal offense committed with premeditation, and for which imprisonment has been defined, the court shall pronounce a punishment above the half of the range of the stipulated punishment, under the following conditions: (1) in case the perpetrator was twice convicted for criminal offenses committed with premeditation, to imprisonment of at least one year; (2) if, from the date of release of the perpetrator from serving the punishment, until committing of a new criminal offenses five years have not passed.
- 63.
Logar (2007).
- 64.
Domestic violence, in the sense of this law, is an act of physical, sexual, psychological and economic violence of a perpetrator against a person with whom the perpetrator is in current or previous marriage, or common-law or partner relationship, or against a person with whom he is a first-degree blood relative, and a second-degree blood relative, or with whom he is a relative through in-laws up to the second degree, or whose he is adopter, adoptee, foster child or foster parent, or another person who he lives with, or had lived with in the same household.
- 65.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2020b).
- 66.
(1) to rectify detrimental consequences caused by the commission of the criminal offense, or indemnify the damage caused; (2) to pay a certain amount of money to the account allocated for payment of public revenues, used for humanitarian or other public purposes; (3) to perform certain community service or humanitarian work; (4) to pay supporting obligations which have fallen due; (5) to submit to alcohol or drug treatment program; (6) to submit to psycho-social treatment for the purpose of eliminating the causes of violent conduct; (7) to fulfill obligations determined by the final court decision, or observe restrictions determined by the final court decision.
- 67.
Official Gazette of RS, Nos. 72/2011, 101/2011, 121/2012, 32/2013, 45/2013, 55/2014, 35/2019, 27/2021- Constitutional Court Decision, 62/2021- Constitutional Court Decision.
- 68.
Mrvić-Petrović and Jovanović (2015), p. 46.
- 69.
Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2021), p. 9.
- 70.
GREVIO (2020), p. 63.
- 71.
Mreža Žene protiv nasilja, Femicid u Srbiji - Mreža Žene protiv nasilja (zeneprotivnasilja.net).
- 72.
According to official data there were 201 reported cases of murders and aggravated murders in 2020. Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia (2021), p. 3.
- 73.
Simeunović-Patić and Jovanović (2013), p. 19.
- 74.
Konstantinović-Vilić et al. (2019), p. 350.
- 75.
Konstantinović-Vilić et al. (2019), pp. 353–354.
- 76.
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Jovanović, S., Vujičić, N. (2022). Requirements of the Istanbul Convention in Domestic Criminal Law and Court Practice. In: Popović, D.V., Kunda, I., Meškić, Z., Omerović, E. (eds) Balkan Yearbook of European and International Law 2021. Balkan Yearbook of European and International Law, vol 2021. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-97431-2_10
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