The Criminal Law Position of the Perpetrator Motivated by His Conscience or Belief

Motiv savjesti ili uvjerenja poseban je osobni uvjet pojedinca prilikom počinjenja kaznenog djela. Suvremene ustavne odredbe jamče slobodu savjesti i vjeroispovijesti, a kaznenopravna teorija poznaje problem počinitelja iz uvjerenja, iako se smatra da do adekvatnih rješenja tek treba doći. Rad se bavi razmatranjima može li se taj motiv uzeti u obzir unutar pojedinih elemenata kaznenog djela te ima li u konačnici utjecaja na nekažnjivost pojedinca. U tu se svrhu iznose stajališta poredbenih autora i sudske prakse o ovom pitanju kao i stavovi autorice. Ovaj rad posvećen je poštovanom profesoru emeritusu Željku Horvatiću u povodu 80 godina života.The motive of conscience or belief represents a special and personal requirement of the individual in committing a crime. Contemporary constitutional provisions guarantee the freedom of conscience and religious belief. Criminal law theory recognizes the problem of perpetrator motivated by his conscience or belief, although it is considered that adequate solutions are yet to be reached. This paper deals with the questions whether these motives can be accepted within certain elements of the crime and whether they have any impact on perpetrator´s impunability. In seeking for solutions, this paper includes attitudes of certain comparative authors as well as jurisprudence through which the question of respecting this constitutional quarantee was induced. Despite of the efforts of the respective authors, we do not find it is justified to accept impunity as the ultimate result within the elements of offence. However, the possibility of withdrawal of sanctions in case of some exceptional situations remains open to consideration