Aggravated murder in a cruel manner

Abstract

Aggravated murder in a cruel manner is a form of murder which is prescribed in Article 114, paragraph 1, item 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia. The article emphasizes the meaning of the notion of cruelty as a determining feature of this crime. It is a complex concept that has its objective, but also subjective aspects. Namely, cruelty on the one hand means depriving the victim of life in a way that inflicts excessive pain and suffering, while, on the other hand, it is necessary for the perpetrator to demonstrate a specific emotional relationship towards these pains and sufferings (in the form of pleasure, enjoyment, lack of pity, etc.). Furthermore, the issue of guilt in this crime was analyzed, especially the possibility of its existence in the case of insanity and significantly reduced sanity. Although the case law rules that in these cases, aggravated murder in a cruel way is not possible, the article argues the opposite thesis. In the end, the issues with attempting and preparing a aggravated murder in a cruel way were discussed. The latter institute may be interesting since the amendments to the Criminal Code from 2019 criminalize the preparation of aggravated murder (it is a so-called delicta preparata), with the provision that the article argues that this provision cannot be applied to aggravated murder in a cruel way.