Examples of Disfunctionalism in the Legal System of Republic of Serbia Cover Image

Primeri disfunkcionalnosti pravnog sistema Republike Srbije
Examples of Disfunctionalism in the Legal System of Republic of Serbia

Author(s): Đorđe D. Sibinović
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence
Published by: Centar za unapređivanje pravnih studija
Keywords: legal system; lawsuit; principles of obligations; review; witness; expertise; competence

Summary/Abstract: The safest way to „destroy” a particular legal system is to abolish its' basic principles or, speaking in terms of philosophy, to abolish system's onthological foundations. Analytical capacities of a system, i.e. the inner reason from which the „logic" of system stems, follow suit and disappear. Inconsistency in implementation and lack of security in legal system come as consequences. A system that tolerates a „strange body" inside of it abolishes security which is the outward reason for existence of any system, concludes the author. Continental system of law is based on a general norm that is covering limitless number of factually identical cases and stems from the logical rule of deduction. Anglo-Saxon common law system, on the other hand, is based on cases and legal precedents, and Roman „right to stand injustice", it stems from the logical rule of induction. Two systems developed consistently and internal logics of their functioning are closed. Author maintains that the 2 systems are not compatible. He points out that today in the legal system of Republic of Serbia norms rooted in the continental system of law exist simultaneously side by side with the norms rooted in the common law system, contributing to creation of a thoroughly dysfunctional system with 2 types of mutually exclusive norms. One can observe such anomalies in material and procedural law, in civic and in criminal law. The above-mentioned phenomenon is the crucial problem which causes the legal system of Republic of Serbia to be not as functional as it should be. The author, exempli causa, provides five examples to substantiate his claims put forth in this paper.

  • Issue Year: 2011
  • Issue No: 3-4
  • Page Range: 221-228
  • Page Count: 8
  • Language: Serbian