CRIMINAL LIABILITY OF LEGAL PERSONS

Abstract

This paper discusses the problem or issue that is involved in almost all countries in the world, and that is the question of criminal liability of legal persons. Countries that belong to the common law, most know the liability of legal persons related to criminal offenses in the form of corporate liability, which is severely different from the mainland. The issue of criminal liability of legal persons is a really complex legal issue, points to the fact that the Committee of Ministers recommended arrangement liability problems of legal persons for criminal offenses in 1988. These recommendations were followed by a number of documents of the Council of Europe with the same request, which indicates that the liability of legal persons related to criminal offenses have to identify in their legislation all the member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union. In our country, but several times so far stressed the need to replace the responsibility of economic leap criminal liability of legal persons. The point that had stood in our legal theory of the necessity to introduce liability of legal persons related to criminal offenses in penal code system of Serbia is the National Assembly of Serbia adopted in the form of adoption of the legal act of legal persons for criminal offenses. The very idea of criminal punishment of legal persons, while punishing responsible person, occur itself as a result of crime appearance that can not prevent by punishing an individual, although the work permit prohibition of legal entity is very effective measure. An example of such act is organized economic crime against the environment and human health. Measure of work permit prohibition of legal persons is effective, but only in terms of prevention, because this measure can hardly punish the real culprits, that is really guilty individuals. The aim of punishing the real culprits in this case will be achieved by applying the law on liability of legal persons for criminal offenses. Adoption of Law of the liability of legal persons related to criminal acts was also necessary to comply with the legal standards contained in the various relevant international instruments, as well as to harmonize the existing criminal legislation in the Member States of the European Union, which already regulate the issue of liability of legal persons for criminal offenses.