Law No. 40/15 on Amendments to the Criminal Code, 2015 - Bosnia and Herzegovina
On 18 May 2015, the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Law on amendments to the Criminal Code. The law harmonizes the domestic legislation with international standards of criminal justice.
It modifies the definition of rape in the context of articles 172 (crimes against humanity) and 173 (war crimes against civilians) by eliminating the use of coercive force or threat of force on the victim or a person close to the victim as elements of the crimes.
Article 190 as modified by the law also provides a more extensive definition of torture encompassing superior and subordinate criminal responsibilities. Such crime is assorted of a penalty of minimum six years of imprisonment.
In addition, the law further introduces an article criminalizing enforced disappearance. According to the newly established article, a person who refuses to admit depriving another person of freedom, or hides information on the faith and location of that person and thus putting him or her outside of the protection of the law, shall be punished by prison sentence of minimum eight years. This provision addresses both superior and subordinate criminal responsibilities. Likewise, superior order doesn’t not relieve the person of his or her criminal responsibility but might affect to reduce the punishment if a court considers it in the interest of justice.
