The request for protection of legality, which the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office filed against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, in the case against the defendant BB, for the continued criminal offense of rape, was adopted by the judgment of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, which determined that the Court of Appeal of Montenegro violated the law in favor of the defendant, by deciding to reverse the first-instance judgment and reduce the defendant's sentence of 15 years in prison to eight years in prison, the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office (SPO) announced.
The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office indicates that this is the second request for protection of the legality of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office that has been adopted since the beginning of the year.
"During 2024, out of 14 requests raised, 12 were adopted, which indicates a growing trend in requests for protection of legality due to judicial violation of the law in favor of the defendants. During 2023, eight requests were adopted, and during 2021 and 2022, one each."
The Supreme State Prosecutor's Office said in a statement that in this specific case it follows that the Court of Appeal "gave blanket reasons when assessing aggravating circumstances, when it found that the defendant should have been sentenced to eight years in prison instead of the originally imposed 15-year prison sentence."
"How did he benefit the defendant, since the imposed prison sentence is not proportionate to the gravity of the criminal offense and the degree of guilt of the defendant, which is why, as reasonably indicated by the request for protection of legality, it cannot represent a measure that is necessary to achieve the purpose of punishment (Article 32 of the Criminal Code)," the SDT announced.
It was found, it added, that the Court of Appeal did not provide specific reasons for the conclusion that the purpose of punishment was achieved, in terms of expressing social condemnation of the criminal act and the obligation to respect the law, nor in terms of strengthening morality and influencing the development of social responsibility:
"Especially considering that the criminal offense was committed against a minor, in which case the circumstances of promoting the rights of minors who should enjoy the greatest support and highest protection in society when it comes to acts of violence against them, and especially when it comes to acts against sexual freedom, must be taken into account. By acting in the above manner, the Court of Appeal not only failed to provide valid reasons for the decisive facts on which the decision on punishment depends, but also provided completely arbitrary and blanket statements as to how the Court of Appeal committed a significant violation of the provisions of criminal procedure, as reasonably indicated by the request for protection of the legality of the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office, as stated in the Supreme Court's judgment," the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office announced.
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