Pravni zapisi

HOMO IURIDICUS AND LEGAL REASONING

2025-12-19T09:02:31+01:00

The paper examines the method of ideal-typical concepts, which the author previously applied in his book Osnovi pravnog rasuđivanja (The fundamentals of legal reasoning). Since the book contains only a few remarks on the topic, the article aims to offer a systematic account of the method employed and its implications. In the book, the ideal type is constructed as homo iuridicus, the subject whose reasoning is guided exclusively by authoritative legal reasons. This subject is a rational, rather than an empirically existing agent. The paper argues that the ideal type provides a framework for conceptualizing legal reasoning without resort- ing to the idiosyncrasies of individual judges or particular legal communities. When the reasoning of such a homo iuridicus is compared to actual judicial practice, it becomes evident that judges do not always decide or justify their rulings solely by referencing authoritative legal reasons. In this way, the usefulness of Weber’s notion of ideal-typical concepts for jurisprudence is brought to light.

BEYOND GUILTY PLEAS: THE PROCEDURALIZATION OF NEGOTIATED JUSTICE IN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL TRIBUNALS

2025-12-19T09:02:31+01:00

Negotiated justice was first codified within the UN Ad Hoc Tribunals, where a consistent body of case law was developed. In contrast, plea-bargaining and guilty pleas were substantially denied in the earlier Nuremberg and Tokyo trials. The paper examines the theoretical and practical development of plea bargaining, tracing the proceduralization of negotiated justice in international criminal tribunals, which has ultimately resulted in the ICC’s abbreviated proceedings on an admission of guilt – a hybrid model incorporating features from civil law and common law systems, representing a compromise of Anglo-Saxon and European legal traditions. The paper also shows that at the ICC, the use of plea bargaining has reached an impasse, primarily due to two factors: its extremely limited application – reflected in only a single case to date – and unclear norms regarding the accused’s rights as well as the length of the proceedings.

STRATEGIES FOR THE PREVENTION AND ERADICATION OF FEMICIDE: LEGAL, INSTITUTIONAL AND SOCIETAL DIMENSIONS, CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

2025-12-19T09:02:32+01:00

Femicide is commonly conceptualized and defined as the gender-based or gender-motivated killing of women. It is a global issue, prompting national states to implement legislative, policy and practical measures and actions to address it. The aim of the paper is to analyse current actions for preventing and suppressing femicide and explore some examples of good practice of state responses to this form of crime. The purpose is to underscore the necessity of recognizing femicide as a persistent issue, identify its characteristics and causes, and explore challenges and possible directions for developing effective preventive responses. Particular emphasize is put on femicide in the context of domestic and partner violence, as the most prevalent type of femicide, which occurs within the broader context of structural discrimination and violence against women.

THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF CROATIA AND THE CONCEPT OF INHERENT POWERS

2025-12-19T09:02:32+01:00

The article examines the Croatian Constitutional Court’s interpretive approach to the existence of its own “inherent” powers and their relationship to the powers enumerated in the Constitution. In this context, we analyze the relevant case law of the Constitutional Court through several key questions: does the Court exercise its “inherent” powers through the concept of a descriptive or autonomous norm, does this result in significant changes in the Court’s procedures, does the Court apply measures defined by the Constitution, and does this significantly disrupt the constitutional balance of competences and powers. The findings show that the Court applies the concept of the autonomous norm, thereby significantly altering both its procedures and the measures it is authorized to impose. We conclude that such an approach by the Court significantly undermines the principle of the balance of powers as envisaged in the Constitution.

IS ACADEMIC FREEDOM IN BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS UNDER DURESS?

2025-12-19T09:02:32+01:00

Academic freedom is considered a cornerstone of democratic higher education, yet its institutional foundations are becoming increasingly fragile. This article examines how financial austerity and ideological contestation interact to reshape academic freedom. It argues that formal constitutional and supranational safeguards coexist with subtle but cumulative mechanisms of erosion, including performance-based funding, managerial governance, politicized scrutiny of specific disciplines, and transnational ideological interference. While Belgium and the Netherlands still perform comparatively well in Europe, the convergence of budgetary constraints and ideological polarization generates chilling effects, self-censorship and strategic compliance. The article concludes that academic freedom cannot be assumed to be secure by default. It calls for renewed safeguards, combined with institutional cultures and international alliances that strengthen the structural resilience of academic freedom.

OPŠTI ZAKON O UNIVERZITETIMA IZ 1954. GODINE: PRVI POSLERATNI ZAKON O VISOKOM ŠKOLSTVU U JUGOSLAVIJI I NJEGOVI DUGOROČNI EFEKTI Drugi deo

2025-12-19T09:02:32+01:00

Posle raskida sa SSSR, jugoslovenski komunisti su počeli da grade drukčiji model socijalizma, u kojem bi visoko obrazovanje dobilo određenu autonomiju, a oni sačuvali monopol vlasti. Od 1952. do 1954. godine vođena je široka rasprava u koju su, pored državnih funkcionera, bili uključeni i univerzitetski profesori i profesionalna udruženja. U njoj su pretresana pitanja nove organizacije univerziteta i fakulteta, uticaja države u upravljanju tim ustanovama, izbora nastavnika i dr. Godine 1954. Savezna narodna skupština donela je Opšti zakon o univerzitetima, koji je odmah postao primenjiv. Tim zakonom su univerziteti i fakulteti dobili status pravnih lica i pravo da donose statute. Njima su upravljali savet (u kojem su profesori i država /sa studentima/ imali po 50% glasova), rektor/dekan i univerzitetska/fakultetska uprava. U državama sukcesorima ex-Jugoslavije i danas se oseća uticaj ovog zakona, a u Srbiji, Hrvatskoj i Severnoj Makedoniji i dalje fakulteti imaju status pravnog lica.

PROTECTION OF CONTRACTING PARTY EQUALITY IN MARRIAGE CONTRACTS

2025-12-19T09:02:32+01:00

The protection of the equality of contracting parties in marriage contracts is a key prerequisite for achieving fairness in such legal relationships. The paper analyzes potential solutions and suggests ways to integrate them into the Serbian legal system, in the absence of adequate mechanisms to protect the equality of the contracting parties. This study focuses on concrete legal mechanisms, providing brief relational contract theory insights about their dynamic nature. The paper presents a thorough analysis of protective measures for both the formation and execution of contracts by drawing essential lessons from German civil law, which has developed sophisticated judicial review systems. The study also assesses how gender equality principles work to resolve the previous legal inequalities that existed in these agreements.

The paper outlines specific mechanisms that should be implemented in the Serbian legal system, applying doctrinal and comparative legal methods.

THE ICJ’S ADVISORY OPINION ON CLIMATE CHANGE: A POSITIVE, YET SMALL, STEP FORWARD

2025-12-19T09:02:33+01:00

The ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change represents a pivotal moment in international environmental law. Being one of three recent decisions on this matter, the Opinion fits neatly within a growing body of jurisprudence aimed at compelling States to fulfill their internationally owed duties.

The Opinion clarifies that States have legal obligations from a panoply of legal instruments to mitigate, adapt and cooperate in regard to the adverse effects of climate change. A breach of these obligations constitutes an internationally wrongful act and triggers State responsibility. Additionally, the Court endorsed the 1.5°C temperature goal as a legally binding target.

While the Opinion is laudable in many respects, others could have been improved. These include the reluctance of the Court to give a definite answer on the rights of future generations and the question of continued statehood due to the permanent loss of territory due rising sea levels.