Authors: Radović Vesna Joksimović Darinka Petrušić Dragana

1. III. Internationalstudent conference „Safety in local communities-legal and criminological perspectives“’, Podgorica, 9 April 2019 Light physical injury Criminal act qualified in the Penal Code of Montenegro Authors: Radović Vesna Joksimović Darinka Petrušić Dragana Student conference on Security and Safety in local communities, Podgorica, Montenegro, 9. 4. 2019

2. Improvement of safety in local communities There is need for a more strict punishment for the offender who commits this criminal act. Stricter punishment would become an efficient measure of prevention. Stricter punishment could also be a method of protecting the physical integrity of the body, even from lesser attacks on the body.

3. What light physical injury represents in fact? Violently inflicted damage upon the body ande to the health, which is caused entirely by external factors. Phyisical injury represents the damaging of the human body and/or impairment of health and includes every kind of separation from the body and destruction of any part of the body. Impairment of the health includes every long-term or short-term physical and mental illnesses or general deterioration of health.

4. Medical definitionof light phyisical injury An injury which in itself does not contain the elements of grievous destruction of the body, or to be exact, of bodily functions and organs, an injury which does not impair the integrity of significant anatomical structures, does not require longterm treatment and it does not cause the destruction of the health nor does it leave lasting or seriouc consequences.

5. Qualifying elements • Endangerment of life – there is no concrete or abstract danger. Human life is not in denger when the light physical injury is caused. • Damaging of an important part of the body or an important organ – light physical injury does not cause damage to any part of the body or to an organ, nor does it significantly or permanently weakens the body or the organs. • Inability to work – does not cause professional or absolute inability to work. It can possibly cause short-term inability to work.

6. Endangerment of health – it must be temporary, without further consequences to the health of the passive subject and without endangering his physical and mental health. Mutilation –a permanent and visible change on the body that causes certain feeling in people must not be the result of light physical injury. Possible changes on the body must be temporary, like bruises, cuts and similar things.

7. Punishment of the light physical injury according to Penal Code • Whoever causes light physical injury to another person or whoever slightly damages another person's health will be sentenced to pay a fine or sentenced to 1 year in prison. • If the light physical injury is caused by a weapon, dangerous tool or any instrument that is capable to inflict grievous injuries to the body or to grievously damage persons health, offender will be sentenced to 3 years in prison. • The court can pronounce a judicial admonition according to the general rules to the offender from paragraph 1. • The court can pronounce a judicial admonition to the offender from paragraph 2, if the offender is provoked by the plaintiff's indecent or rude behavior.

8. Negative effects of this criminal act and improvement of security and safety of the physical integrity • A great number of light physical injuries remain unreportedand unpunisheddue to various reasons - fear of the offender, fear of revenge, insufficiently developed public awareness about the seriousness of this injuries, even because of the inadequate sanctions for this criminal acts. • Consequences to the phyche (trauma, depression, humiliation etc.) and the possibility to grow into a more serious criminal act and to cause serious deterioration of health.

9. First step to reduce the procentage of light physical injuries is certianly to romove the possibility of pronouncing the juducial admonition, especially when it comes to dangerously inflicted light physical injury. • Second step is to enforce stricter punishments for the same criminal act.The goal of the stricter punishment is prevention- it is pronaunced so that they can influence a person's behavior and hopefully to stop this criminal acts from happening. • However, light physical injury is a violent attack that causes physical and mental pain, and the old principle „an eye for an eye“ has no place in today's society.

10. Conclusion No matter how harmless the light physical injury can seem to be, because of all the negativity that sorrounds it, this crime deserves special attention and commitment, because the primary goal of the criminal law is not pronouncing sentences for the sake of punishing the offender. On the contrary, the ULTIMATE goal of criminal law is PREVENTION, the prevention of ever committing a criminal act by trying to influence person's behavior.

11. THANK YOU for your attention !