The Law on Responsibility of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences (“Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 97/2008) regulates the conditions of responsibility of legal entities for criminal offences, the criminal sanctions that may be imposed on legal entities, and the rules of decision-making procedure in matters of responsibility of legal entities, imposing of criminal sanctions, passing of decisions on rehabilitation, termination of a safety measure or a legal consequence of conviction, and on enforcement of court decisions.
Criminal Offences Involving the Responsibility of Legal Entities
A legal entity may face the prosecution for criminal offences specified in the particular part of the Penal Code and in other laws if the conditions of responsibility specified by the Law on Responsibility of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences (“Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 97/2008) have been fulfilled.
Exemption from and Restriction of Liability
Not be held responsible for a criminal offence:
- The Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: the Republic), the autonomous province and a local self-government unit and/or State agencies and agencies of the autonomous province and local self-government units and
- Other legal entities entrusted by law to exercise public powers shall not be held responsible for a criminal offence committed in exercising the public powers.
Conditions of Implementation of the Law
The Law on Responsibility of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences (“Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 97/2008) shall apply to:
- a domestic and a foreign legal entity responsible for criminal offence committed in the territory of the Republic
- a foreign legal entity responsible for the criminal offence committed abroad to the detriment of the Republic, its citizen or a domestic legal entity
- a domestic legal entity responsible for the criminal offence committed abroad.
The Law on Responsibility of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences (“Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 97/2008) shall not apply in cases specified in points 2 and 3 of the previous paragraph where special conditions have been fulfilled for the criminal prosecution specified in Article 10, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code.
Conditions of Responsibility of Legal Entity for Criminal Offence
Ground of Responsibility of Legal Entity
A legal entity shall be responsible for a criminal offence committed within the scope of its affairs and/or powers by the person in charge with a view of acquiring a property benefit for the legal entity.
Responsibility of the legal entity shall also exist where, due to lack of supervision or control by a person in charge, it became possible for a natural person, acting under supervision and control by the person in charge, commit a criminal offence to the benefit of the legal entity.
Limits of Responsibility of Legal Entity
Responsibility of a legal entity shall be based on the blameworthiness of a person in charge. A legal entity shall also be responsible for a criminal offence committed by the person in charge where criminal proceedings against the person in charge were suspended or the incrimination was rejected.
Termination or Status Change of Legal Entity
Should a legal entity cease to exist prior to termination of criminal proceedings, a fine, a measure of safety and of confiscation of property benefit may be imposed to the legal entity which is its legal successor, if responsibility of the legal entity that ceased to exist has been previously established.
Should a legal entity cease to exist after the termination of final proceedings in which the responsibility was established and the sanction for the criminal offence imposed, the fine, the safety measures and the confiscation of property benefit shall be carried out against its legal successor.
Under the conditions specified for the ground of liability of legal entities for the criminal offence, responsible for a criminal offence shall be a legal entity that has changed the legal form of its business activity after the commission of criminal offence.
Responsibility of Legal Entity in the Case of Bankruptcy
A legal entity going bankrupt shall be responsible for a criminal offence committed prior to instituting or in course of conducting the bankruptcy proceedings. Confiscation of property benefit or a safety measure of confiscation of an object shall be imposed to the responsible legal entity.
Attempt
A legal entity shall be responsible for an attempted criminal offence under the conditions relating to the liability of legal persons for the criminal offense should the law prescribe that attempt is indictable.
The punishment specified by the Law on Responsibility of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences (“Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 97/2008) for an attempt may be imposed to the legal entity found responsible, while it may also be punished more leniently.
A legal entity that has prevented the completion of a criminal offence may be exonerated from punishment.
Multiple Criminal Offence
A legal entity shall be responsible for a multiple criminal offence if there are conditions relating to the liability of legal persons for the criminal offense and if it is accountable for several criminal offences committed by two or more persons in charge, with the provison that these criminal offences make an entity in terms of Article 61, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code.
A stricter punishment of up to double amount, specified in Article 14 of the Law on Responsibility of Legal Entities for Criminal Offences (“Official Herald of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 97/2008), may be imposed to the responsible legal entity for a multiple criminal offence.
Criminal Sanctions
The following criminal sanctions for a criminal offence may be imposed to a legal entity:
- punishment
- suspended sentence
- safety measures.
Legal Consequences Incident to Conviction
Coming into Effect of Legal Consequences Incident to Conviction
Conviction of a legal entity for specific criminal offence may entail a legal consequence of termination and/or forfeiture of specific rights or prohibition to acquire specific rights.
Legal consequences may be provided only by the law and may take place only by the operation of the law providing them.
Kinds of Legal Consequences of Conviction
Following shall be the legal consequences of conviction relative to the termination of specific rights or forfeiture of specific rights:
- termination of exercising certain activities or affairs
- forfeiture of specific permits, approvals, concessions, subsidies or other forms of incentive that are granted by decisions of state agencies or agencies of the local government unit.
Following shall be the legal consequences consisting of the prohibition of acquiring specific rights:
- prohibition to exercise specific activities or affairs
- prohibition to take part in public procurement procedure
- prohibition to take part in commercial entities privatization procedure
- prohibition to acquire specific permits, approvals, concessions or other forms of incentive that are granted by decisions of state agencies or agencies of the local government unit.
Commencement and Period of Duration of Legal Consequences of Conviction
Legal consequences of conviction shall take place on the day of effectiveness of the sentence by which the fine has been imposed. Legal consequences of conviction which are consisting of the prohibition of acquiring specific rights:may be prescribed to extend over a period not exceeding ten years.
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