Baština (Jan 2018)
History of the development of the juvenile delinquency in the criminal legislation of the Republic of Serbia
Abstract
Historically observed juveniles in the early periods of human civilization had an impact on the perpetrator's criminal status, so in the Roman period, juveniles up to seven years (infantes) were criminally irresponsible, while juveniles from seven to ten years old (infantiae proximus) and juveniles aged 10 to 14 (pubertati proximus) could be punished only exceptionally and with the finer penalties if they were capable of a criminal mind (down capaces), and in that case the thought supplemented the age (malitia supplet aetatem). With the development of criminal legislation, the age limit has increased to sixteen years, so that at the same time the mental development of a juvenile manifested itself through the so-called understanding, as one of the forms of reasonableness by which the juvenile could understand the significance of his work and manage his actions. The basic difference between juveniles and adolescents is based on the study of the personality of the minor and his special psychic and bio-physiological characteristics, that is, determining the cause of the deviant behaviour created by criminal predispositions. All of these facts have led to the fact that criminal legislation in the Republic of Serbia, taking into account the specificity of juvenile delinquency, changes its attitude towards juveniles, giving them special treatment in relation to adult persons, by prescribing special provisions in both material and procedural and executive legislation. The aim of criminal justice in Serbia was to influence the juvenile in a way that does not interfere with his proper development, and that by using the benefits of his bio-psychic profile, he influences his proper direction, first and foremost by a human and reasonable, or protective-educational approach. Through this research, the authors wanted to provide the scientific public with key scientific information in the field of legislative rules for juveniles in Serbia in its three periods, from monarchy to socialism to parliamentary democracy in the twenty-first century.
