Box 11: Article 6, ECHR
Box 12: How Does Deferred Prosecution Work in Practice in Serbia?
Often referred to as ‘the principle of opportunity’, the public prosecutor is empowered to defer the prosecution of certain types of cases* and thus divert them out of the court system by offering suspects alternative conditions in lieu of a sentence. Conditions may include one or more of the following:
In practice, the prosecutor halts the prosecution for a specific time (which may not exceed one year) during which time the suspect must fulfil the obligation/s undertaken. Should the suspect not comply, the prosecution automatically re-commences with little further paperwork required. Competence for oversight of the fulfilment of obligations is performed by the Commissioner with the authority to execute criminal sanctions, in accordance with a regulation issued by the relevant minister responsible for the judiciary.
* The prosecutor may defer criminal prosecution for offences punishable by a fine or a term of imprisonment of up to five years. Deferred prosecution is not available in certain types of cases, such as family violence.