THE PURPOSE OF PUNISHMENT IN CONTEMPORARY CRIMINAL LAW

Brojni pravni sistemi u suvremeno doba susreću se s ubrzanim rastom kriminaliteta i posljedicama koje proizlaze iz toga. Teoretičari i stručnjaci raspravljaju o svrhama kažnjavanja, čak i danas kada se čini da je ta tema kroz povijest već u potpunosti iscrpljena. Nedvojbeno je da čovječanstvo bez kažnjavanja ne može egzistirati stoga je cilj ovog rada pokušati pronaći odgovore na pitanja zašto kažnjavati te kojim modelom kazni ili sankcija se najbolje ostvaruje svrha kažnjavanja. Kako bismo bolje razumjeli institut ostvarivanja svrhe kažnjavanja potrebno je zaviriti u povijest i teorije kažnjavanja koje su se razvile. Prema tomu, u prvom dijelu rada obrađene su apsolutne, relativne i mješovite teorije te njihove prednosti i nedostaci. Budući da je tema ovog rada svrha kažnjavanja u suvremenom kaznenom pravu, neizostavno je bilo spomenuti i objasniti teorije specijalne i generalne prevencije kojima se, u pokušajima smanjenja kriminaliteta, vode gotovo svi suvremeni kaznenopravni sustavi. U radu je obrađen pojam kazne, odrađena je sistematizacija kazni u Republici Hrvatskoj te pojam i važnost alternativa kazni zatvora kao sredstvo ostvarivanja svrhe kažnjavanja. Osim toga, pruža se uvid i u institut restorativne pravde kao relativno nov instrument ostvarivanja svrhe kažnjavanja. Kao posljedica rasta kriminaliteta u svijetu, javlja se prenapučenost zatvorskih sustava što onemogućava i potkopava uspješnu resocijalizaciju počinitelja kaznenog djela što je uz, društvenu osudu i utjecaj na počinitelja i sve druge da ne čine kaznena djela, jedna od glavnih svrha kažnjavanja. Stoga je u radu izloženo istraživanje o svijesti službenika pravosudne policije i osoba na izdržavanju kazne zatvora o svrsi kažnjavanja, provedeno 2020. godine u kaznionici Lepoglava od strane studenata Pravnog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Rijeci, uz osvrt na nedostatke zatvorskog sustava u Republici Hrvatskoj.Numerous legal systems in modern times are facing accelerated growth of crime and the consequences that arise from it. Theorists and experts debate the purpose of punishments, even today when the subject seems to have been completely exhausted throughout history. There is no doubt that humanity cannot exist without punishment, therefore the goal of this thesis is to try to find answers to questions such as why to punish and which model of punishment or sanctions best fulfills the purpose of punishment. In order to better understand the concept of achieving the purpose of punishment, it is necessary to look into the history and theories of punishment that have developed. Therefore, the first part of the thesis deals with absolute, relative and mixed theories and their advantages and disadvantages. Since the topic of this thesis is the purpose of punishment in modern criminal law, it was essential to mention and explain the theories of special and general prevention, which guide almost all modern criminal law systems in attempts to reduce crime. The thesis deals with the concept of punishment, the systematization of punishments in the Republic of Croatia, and the concept and importance of alternatives to imprisonment as a means of achieving the purpose of punishment. In addition, an insight is provided into the concept of restorative justice as a relatively new instrument for achieving the purpose of punishment. As a consequence of the crime growth in the world, there is overcrowding of prison systems, which prevents and undermines the successful resocialization of perpetrators of criminal acts, which is one of the main purposes of punishment, in addition to social condemnation and influencing the perpetrator and everyone else not to commit crimes. Therefore, the thesis presents research on the awareness of judicial police officers and people serving prison sentences about the purpose of punishment, conducted in 2020 in the Lepoglava penitentiary by students of the Faculty of Law of the University of Rijeka, with a focus on the shortcomings of the prison system in the Republic of Croatia