Serbia
Serbia regularly reports data on hate crimes to ODIHR. Serbia's Criminal Code contains a general penalty-enhancement provision and a substantive offence. The data reported to ODIHR also include cases of incitement to hatred and other hate speech offences. Serbia's Prosecutor's Office collects data on hate crime.
How hate crime data is collected
There is no specific system in place for the police recording of hate crimes.
The recording of hate crimes is conducted in all 83 public prosecutor offices in accordance with official guidelines. There is an instruction that defines record keeping on hate crimes, including on providing a specific indication of the motive of the criminal offence. Under General Compulsory Instruction O.br. 4/2018 of 28 September 2018, each Prosecutor's Office includes a prosecutor appointed as a contact point, who is tasked with collecting information and issuing quarterly reports on activities regarding hate crimes to the Public Prosecutor's Office.
In addition to hate crimes, the prosecutor's office records the criminal offences of incitement to ethnic, racial and religious hatred and intolerance (Article 317 of the criminal code), racial and other discrimination (Article 387 of the criminal code), as well as other criminal offences covered in the criminal code. In accordance with the Law on Public Prosecution, courts, other public authorities, local authorities, as well as other organizations and legal persons, are obliged to transmit files and notifications as required to the public prosecutor's office. In this regard, there is co-operation between the public prosecutor's office and other public authorities and institutions.
Official Data
Hate crimes recorded by police
A breakdown of police recorded hate crimes by bias motivation is not available.
National developments
In a first judgment expressly applying the hate crime provision in Serbian Criminal Code, a defendant received an enhanced sentence for a hate crime motivated by bias against sexual orientation, following arguments to that effect by the public prosecutor.
The Republic Public Prosecutor's Office, jointly with the OSCE Mission to Serbia and civil society, developed and published the Guidelines for Criminal Prosecution of Hate Crimes. The Guidelines, to which ODIHR contributed expert input, were disseminated and trainings for prosecutors are being conducted to solidify their principles into prosecutorial practice.
Pursuant to the Compulsory Instruction issued by the Republic Public Prosecutor, all Prosecutor's Offices have appointed a specialist hate crime prosecutor to monitor and record hate crime cases, liaise with case prosecutor and police officers, as well as with the victims and civil society organizations supporting them.
International reports
No information is available.
Key observation
ODIHR observes that the law enforcement agencies of Serbia have not recorded the bias motivations of hate crimes.
