Lišenje života iz samilosti u Krivičnom zakoniku Srbije – odredba koja nije dobila svoje otelotvorenje u sudskoj praksi
Euthanasia in the Criminal Code of Serbia - a provision that did not get its embodiment in court practice

Author(s): Dragana Z. Kolarić
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Criminal Law, Ethics / Practical Philosophy, Public Law, Evaluation research
Published by: Fondacija Centar za javno pravo
Keywords: Public law; euthanasia; Criminal law; judiciary; legislation; practice; evaluation; Republic of Serbia;
Summary/Abstract: In the field of substantive criminal law in the Republic of Serbia, a fundamental reform was made in 2005, and the Criminal Code of Serbia was passed. The Article 117 regulates a special, new form of criminal offence of murder, previously not contained in the Criminal Code of Serbia – mercy killing as a privileged murder. After almost nine years since the implementation of the Criminal Code, the author re-analyses the provision of Article 117 and tries to answer some questions. Aside from the fact that the application of this qualification has been extremely rare in the case law, the question related to the elements of this offense is often raised, and it refers to the observation that the current law is inconclusive when it comes to mercy killing. The author’s attention is also focused on a comparative review of specific foreign legislations when it comes to regulating the legal status of euthanasia. By analysing the above mentioned solutions, the author suggests several methods in the treatment of this delicate issue. The aim of this paper is to clarify some existing dilemmas regarding this privileged criminal offence. The emphasis is placed on the analysis of the provision of Article 117 of the Criminal Code of Serbia and its evaluation in terms of its acceptability or unacceptability when it comes to its applicability in practice. According to the data of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, since the entry into force of the Criminal Code of Serbia, there has been no final judgment on any criminal offense under Article 117. It is obvious that this provision has not been viable in practice. For this reason, a series of polemical issues are imposed, in terms of: the conditions under which a behaviour can be subsumed under the legal description of the mercy killing; determining the qualitative difference between this criminal offense and a plan murder; need for widening of criminal zone, etc.

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