Safety measure 'Ban on attendance at certain sporting events' in practice of police and the judiciary

Abstract

The Law Amending the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia of 2009 has introduced for the first time the safety measure 'Ban on Attendance at Certain Sporting Events' in Serbian criminal sanctions system. Ratio legis of the legislator was efficient and intense fight against violence at sporting events. This paper will present, using the practical examples, in which way this measure is implemented, as well as what positive and negative effects are of such a legal regulation of measures directed at suppression of violence at sporting events in the Republic of Serbia. Also, we shall analyze the court decisions reached in the territory of Kolubara District from the moment when this Article of the Law came into effect until today, which delivered the safety measure of 'Ban on Attendance at Certain Sporting Events'. We shall also analyze the manners of carrying out or failures to carry out certain judicial decisions due to many objective and subjective reasons. We shall particularly give a review of the actions of the police, who are in charge of monitoring the implementation of safety measures, i.e. notifying the court on the implementation of the judicial decisions, as well as of the response by the court to the notification that their final judgments are not carried out. Finally, we shall answer the question posed and conclude whether the suppression of violence at sporting events is efficient within our legal system.

Keywords

• sporting event
• violence
• fans
• police
• criminal offence
• misdemeanour
• safety measure