Friday, June 30, 2000

The Draft Law Against Terrorism delivered to the Federal Parliament of Yugoslavia to be urgently accepted on June 30, but revoked from procedure just before the Federal Parliament session.

The Draft Law Against Terrorism

Article 1

Any person who with the intention of compromising the Constitutional order or territorial entirety of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or any member Republic causes an explosion or fire, or carries out a kidnapping, or any other act of violence, or seriously threatens performing such acts of general danger, or use of nuclear, chemical, bacteriological or any other dangerous means creating a feeling of insecurity or fear with citizens, shall be sentenced to five years in prison.

Should an act described in paragraph 1 of this article result in the death of one or more people or endanger people's lives, or be accompanied by heavy violence, or great vandalism, or endanger the security of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or its member republic, the person what committed the deed shall be sentenced to a minimum of ten years in prison, or twenty years in prison.

Should the act described in paragraph 1 of this article be committed or during the committing of this act the person carrying out this deed slay one or more persons, he/she shall be sentenced to at least ten years in prison or life in prison.

Any person who calls or instigates persons to commit the acts described in paragraph 1 of this article shall be sentenced to jail from three to twenty years, and the person who calls or instigates persons to perform the deeds described in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article shall be sentenced to at least ten years in prison or twenty years in prison.

Any person preparing to perform the acts described in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article shall be punished with at least a year in prison, and any person preparing to perform the acts described in paragraph 3 of this article shall be sentenced to at least five years in prison.

Article 2

Any person distributing, keeping with the intent of distributing, or making available writings, audio-visual or any other means of calling or instigating acts from article 1 of this law shall be sentenced to at least three years in prison.

The perpetrator of the acts described in article 1 of this law with foreign assistance shall be sentenced to at least five years in prison. Any person publicly condoning the acts from article 1 of this law shall be sentenced to between six months and five years in prison.

Article 3

Any person organizing a group of persons with the intent of committing a deed described in article 1 of this law, or who confers with another to commit a deed described in article 1 of this law, shall be sentenced to at least three years in prison.

Any person who becomes a member of a group described in paragraph 1 of this article shall be sentenced from one to eight years in prison. The organizer or member of such a group who prevents the committing of a deed described in article 1 of this law may be acquitted from any sentence.

Any member of such a group who has given information leading to the dentification of the perpetrator or deed described in article 1 of this law may be acquitted from the sentence stated in article 1 of this law or paragraph 2 of this article.

Article 4

The person concealing or assisting the perpetrator of the deeds described in article 1 and article 2 of this law, in any way, with the intent of hindering his detection or apprehension shall be sentenced to at least a year in prison.

The person shall not be sentenced should the perpetrator of the deed described in article 1 of this law be a spouse or first-degree blood relative, brother or sister.

Article 5

It shall not be considered a crime should the person commit the deeds described in articles 1 and 2 of this law with the intent of reveal and apprehend another perpetrator.

The conduct of how a deed described in article 1 of this law should be performed shall determined by the federal minister authorized for internal affairs.

The federal prosecutor shall be informed of the measures taken described in article 1 of this law.

Article 6

Should it be necessary to conduct criminal procedures, the president of the Federal Court may, at the proposal of the federal state prosecutor or federal minister authorized with internal affairs, decide to preventively detain the person for which there is a founded suspicion of committing an offense described by this law.

In special cases the president of the Federal Court may authorize another judge of the Federal Court to decide on preventive detainment.

The preventive detainment is conducted in penitentiary institutions, district prisons or military prisons.

Article 7

The president of the Federal Court shall reexamine the reasons for preventive detention on every seventh day, upon acquiring the opinion of the state prosecutor and federal minister authorized with internal affairs.

Preventive detention may last up to thirty days.

Article 8

During preventive detainment evidence may be gathered and official conversations held with the person preventively detained only regarding the crimes for which the preventive detainment order was given.

The person preventively detained shall immediately be informed of the detention reasons and his rights, and the immediate family shall be informed.

Article 9

The president of the Federal Court or the authorized judge of the Federal Court shall view the evidence during the preventive detainment and decides whether it may be used in the criminal procedures.

Article 10

Should the deed described in this law be in the jurisdiction of the Military Court and should it be necessary for the conducting of the criminal procedure, the president of the Supreme Military Court may, following the proposal of the military chief prosecutor or federal minister authorized with internal affairs decide to preventively detain the person for which there is a founded suspicion of committing an offense described by this law.

The president of the Supreme Military Court shall reexamine the reasons for preventive detention on every seventh day, upon acquiring the opinion of the chief military prosecutor and federal minister authorized with internal affairs.

The president of the Supreme Military Court, or an authorized judge of the Supreme Military Court shall decide whether the evidence collected during the preventive detainment may be used in the criminal proceedings before the Military Court.

Article 11

The criminal acts described by this law shall be investigated and tried by the first degree district or higher court, i.e. first-degree military court.

Article 12

Persons present during the investigation or reviewing documents of the investigation are obliged to keep these facts and any information they had acquired, as a state secret.

The public or state prosecutor may rise indictments without the approval of the investigative magistrate without conducting an investigation.

Article 13

Should a witness depart the place of the hearing without permission or justification, forced conveying shall be ordered.

Should the witness or expert witness inexcusably be absent forced conveying shall be ordered.

Should the attending witness refuse to testify without legal reasons after being warned of the consequence detention shall be ordered. The detention shall last until the witness agrees to testify, or until the testimony becomes unnecessary, or until the criminal proceedings end, but for no more than thirty days, with the decision being reexamined every seventh day.

Article 14

Objections to the indictment may be filed within three days of it being handed, and the president of the council may request the reviewing of the indictment within three days following the deadline for filing the objection, i.e. the overruling of the objection.

The non-participating discussion council of the court is shall rule on the objection against the indictment or the request of the council president for the reviewing of the indictment within forty-eight hours.

The president of the council starts the main inquiry with an injunction, which must begin within fifteen days of the registration of the indictment with the court.

Article 15

Should the composition of the council change, including the president of the council, or should the main inquiry be postponed for more than a month, the council may decide to continue the main inquiry following the brief recount of the earlier inquiry by the council president.

Appeals to the verdict by the first-degree court may be filed within ten days of the handing of the verdict to the accused or the public or state prosecutor.

Article 16

The person accused of the crime described in article 1 of this law shall serve time in a strictly prison institution.

The person convicted of a crime described in article 1 of this law may not file a request for the postponement of the imprisonment, nor may the imprisonment be postponed pending extraordinary legal means.

Article 17

Articles of the Criminal proceedings law shall be applied during the criminal proceedings regarding issues not described by this law.

Article 18

Articles 125, as well as portions of articles 136 and 139 relating to deeds described in article 125 of the Criminal law of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia shall cease to apply on the day of enactment of this law.

Article 19

This law shall be enacted on the eighth day following publication in the "Official prints of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia".

Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia