Diversion orders in the Republic of Serbia

Abstract

Diversion model of reaction towards juvenile crime has been introduced into the Serbian criminal law system by the implementation of diversion orders. Serbian Law on Juvenile Offenders and Criminal Protection of Juveniles has enabled the application of various types of diversion orders as a novelty in juvenile criminal law of the Republic of Serbia. Diversion orders constitute a specific category of measures which can be applied both by the juvenile judge and by the public prosecutor for juveniles, in order to avoid, or to suspend, criminal proceedings towards juvenile offenders. Certain elements of the internationally acclaimed concept of restorative justice have been introduced into the Serbian criminal law system by the application of diversion orders. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to present the main features of diversion orders.

Uvođenje instituta vaspitnih naloga u maloletničko krivično pravo Srbije omogućilo je širu zastupljenost diverzionog modela reagovanja na maloletničku delinkvenciju. Shodno Zakonu o maloletnim učiniocima krivičnih dela i krivičnopravnoj zaštiti maloletnih lica, vaspitni nalozi mogu biti primenjeni kako od strane sudije za maloletnike, tako i od strane javnog tužioca za maloletnike, a u cilju izbegavanja pokretanja krivičnog postupka ili radi obustave krivičnog postupka prema maloletniku. Nesporno je da je u pitanju mera osobenog karaktera koja tvori posebnu kategoriju uz tradicionalno poznate maloletničke krivične sankcije u našem pravnom sistemu. Osobito interesovanje za vaspitne naloge pobuđuje i to što se putem njih implementiraju određeni elementi restorativne pravde, kao koncepta koji izaziva veliku pažnju na internacionalnom nivou. Imajući u vidu navedeno, autor je izlaganja u radu posvetio razmatranju osnovnih odlika instituta vaspitnih naloga.