What is a postponement of criminal prosecution?
Postponement of criminal prosecution is an institute of criminal procedural law. It represents an exception to the rule that the public prosecutor must prosecute the perpetrator of a criminal offense that is prosecuted ex officio. In a way, it represents a certain type of forgiveness to the perpetrator of a criminal act, under certain conditions.
For what crimes is the postponement of criminal prosecution possible?
The postponement of criminal prosecution is allowed for criminal offenses for which a fine or a prison sentence of up to five years is threatened, if the suspect accepts one or more legally stated obligations.
What obligations can be imposed on the suspect?
The suspect may accept one or more of the following obligations:
- to eliminate the harmful consequences caused by the commission of a criminal offense or to compensate for the damage caused
- to pay a certain amount of money to the account prescribed for the payment of public revenues, which is used for humanitarian or other public purposes
- to perform certain socially beneficial or humanitarian work
- to fulfill the due maintenance obligations
- to undergo alcohol or drug rehab
- to undergo psychosocial treatment in order to eliminate the causes of violent behavior
- to fulfill the obligation established by a legally binding court decision, i.e. to respect the limitation established by a legally binding court decision.
What is the procedure in case of the postonement of criminal prosecution?
The public prosecutor issues an order on the postponement of the criminal prosecution and sets a deadline of no more than one year in which the suspect is required to fulfill the specified obligation or obligations. In practice, the most common order is to order the suspect to pay a certain amount of money for humanitarian purposes. If the suspect fulfills the obligation within the deadline, the public prosecutor dismisses the criminal complaint by decision.
Does the public prosecutor have to apply the postonement of criminal prosecution if the legal requirements are met?
The answer is: no. If the conditions are met, the public prosecutor may or may not apply the postonement of criminal prosecution.
Is the suspect considered convicted after the realization of the postonement of criminal prosecution?
The answer is: no. The suspect is not considered convicted, since the trial did not even take place. The fact that, according to the suspect, the postonement of criminal prosecution was used is not recorded in the criminal records.
What are the rights of the harmed party in case of the postonement of criminal prosecution?
The application of the postonement of criminal prosecution in practice often causes the anger of the one who has been harmed by the crime, who has the impression that justice has not been satisfied. Especially for the reason that the harmed party cannot in any way dispute the decision of the public prosecutor to apply the postonement of criminal prosecution. The harmed party does not have the right to complain directly to the higher public prosecutor, nor can he take over the prosecution. This is because it is considered that criminal prosecution for criminal acts that are prosecuted ex officio is the exclusive jurisdiction of the state, and the harmed party in this case has no right to interfere. What the harmed party is entitled to is certainly compensation for the damage suffered (material and/or non-material), which he can claim in a special civil procedure, if the damage has not already been compensated by the application of the procedure of postponement of criminal prosecution.
Danilo Babić- lawyer in Novi Sad
