Рад у јавном интересу - нормативни приказ и прилике у Србији
Community Service - Legislation and the State of Affairs in Serbia

Author(s): Milica Kovačević, Saša Atanasov
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Penology
Published by: Правни факултет Универзитета у Источном Сарајеву
Keywords: Community service; Short-term prison sentences; Alternative criminal sanctions;
Summary/Abstract: One of the dominant trends in the criminal law reaction in the modern era is the existence of the broadest possible range of criminal sanctions, which are primarily intended to substitute short-term prison sentences with appropriate alternatives, mainly to avoid several negative consequences associated with the institutionalization. Thus, among the alternative sanctions, the punishment of work in the public interest/community service occupies a prominent place. Community service was introduced into the Serbian criminal legislation in 2006. However, even today, according to relevant statistical data, this punishment does not occupy a significant place among the implemented criminal sanctions. The question arises as to what reasons contribute to such a state of affairs. Some of the problems can be related to the lack of personnel and technical resources, and others to the existence of certain prejudices among the convicted persons and the public. Therefor, the paper is devoted to analyzing the positive legal framework related to the alternative sanction of community service in Serbia, as well as summarizing the factual situation regarding the application of this criminal sanction. The conclusion is that adequate measures have yet to be taken in order to popularize the punishment of work in public interest. Normative-logical, comparative, and the method of descriptive statistics were applied. The goal of the work is to highlight recommendations for the improvement of some future normative solutions. The authors recommend that the law be amended by enabling a broader application of community service order. At the same time, they advocate for the popularization of community service and other forms of alternative sanctions not only among professionals and scientists but also among the general public.

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