New criminal offences in the Criminal Code of Serbia and the guarantee function of criminal law

Abstract

When we talk about frequent amendments and additions to criminal legislation, it is important to determine that they are implemented, more or less, in accordance with the main requirements that the principle of legality is based on. To what extent and in which way is it accomplished in criminal legislation and court practice? The principle of legality represents one of the most important achievements of a legal state and it is therefore important that it is observed to the full capacity and in its overall meaning. Taking into account that frequent amendments are primarily the results of harmonization with the obligations that the states undertake when they ratify certain international agreements, but also of harmonization with the EU legal heritage, it is important to determine if the guarantee function of criminal law is achieved when specifying certain behaviours as criminal offences and prescribing penalties or other criminal sanctions. The paper analyses new criminal offences introduced by the Law on Amendments and Additions to the Criminal Code of 2016. It is through the analysis of the specific element of each criminal offence individually that the author tries to determine if the guarantee function of criminal offence has been achieved. The accent here is on new criminal offences classified within the group of offences against life and limb, freedom and rights and gender freedom (harmonized with the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence).