The focus of the authors’ interest is the criminal offense of embezzlement in the service, which we classify in the catalogue of corrupt criminal offences, by its nature, operationalization method, consequences and other specificities. In addition, it is a criminal offense from the catalogue of premeditated criminal offenses, so the paper pays due attention to the interconnection and cumulative conditionality of objective and subjective elements, that is, the action of execution and the subjective component. Special attention is directed to the discovery of the existence of this criminal offense, i.e. the realistic discovery possibilities and capacities, then the objectivesubjective concept based on the legal description of this criminal offense, and the aspect of gathering the necessary evidence in connection with establishing the existence of the criminal offense and guilt, considering the restrictive legal requirements. The complexity of discovering and proving this criminal offense arises from the very nature of this criminal offense and certain specificities that are directly related to the way it is operationalized. The criminal law autonomy and independence, as well as the clear differentiation of this criminal offense in relation to other related criminal offences, are emphasized in order to avoid (possible) wrong identifications, and with the aim of a better and more comprehensive understanding of the very nature of this criminal offence

Human life and body represent social values that have always been and remain the subject of criminal law protection. Precisely, the authors in the first part of the work point to the incrimination of the crime of murder throughout the historical era of Serbia and the neighboring countries, and also that the life and body of members of certain social classes were not subject to criminal law protection, and in certain eras the criminal law protection of life and body was not provided equally to every person. The continuous development of society and changes in all spheres led to the need for more and more contact between people, and their relationships led to various conflicts and the desire to be resolved at their own discretion. The second part of the work deals with conflict situations that led to mutual attacks in order to resolve the situations that ended with an attack and endangering the physical integrity of people. Thus, when studying the criminal offense of murder, which is one of the classics, perhaps even the oldest criminal offense which has already been discussed so much from a theoretical point of view and, at first glance, it seems that everything has already been said, there are still a lot of disputed questions that need to be discussed, in a theoretical, criminological sense, as well as to clarify the problems that arise in judicial practice. Some research indicates that a high percentage (even over 80 percent) of perpetrators of criminal acts would not have started committing criminal acts if they had known for sure that they would be discovered as perpetrators of the same. Research data indicate that violence in Serbia has increased by 74%. The third part of the work deals with the incrimination of the most serious criminal offense from the aspect of modern and international criminal law, as well as their recommendations for the purpose of prevention and repression.

In this paper, the attention is focused on the efficiency of the criminal procedure, with a special focus on the efficiency of the criminal process entities in terms of elucidating and solving a specific criminal matter. In connection with the above, the authors recognized and identified the key procedural problems related to the timely, efficient and legal detection and proof of the criminal act and guilt. Given that a significant period of time has passed since the last general reform of the criminal procedure legislation, sufficient for a critical analysis, a critical review of all phases of the criminal procedure was carried out with the intention of actualizing and problematizing certain legal solutions of a procedural nature (detective activity, investigation concept, standards evidence, evidentiary role of the prosecutor, drawing up/filing of the indictment, complexity of discovery and proof, etc.) on which the efficient and legal conduct and finalization of criminal proceedings directly depend. Also, modern forms of criminality, especially specific forms of organized crime, demand from the legislator the adequacy of the legal norm in terms of achieving a legitimate legal goal related to the effective and energetic fight against crime as a complex social phenomenon and achieving adequate results of criminal justice.

Guilt of minors is the focus of scientific and professional thematization, which has gained regional relevance through numerous tragic events, i.e. crimes committed by minors. Tragic events, with minors as perpetrators of the most serious crimes, require reconsideration and analysis of both current situation in the field of preventive work, and the current situation the field of prescribed legislative solutions in the field of criminal law. In this paper, the authors referred to the legislative aspects of the guilt of minors, where the focus of the paper is on the concept of guilt in juvenil criminal law and the perception of quilt from aspects of prescribed criminal sanctions for minors and the conditions for their imposition and the age limits of the capacity of minors to bear quilt. Certain aspects of the prescribed incriminating behavior of minors and their causal connection with the quilt of the parents, are also problematized. In this sense, an overview is given of the challenges of searching for appropriate de lege ferenda solutions, as well as dilemmas and shortcomings arising from the dubious nature of certain prescribed provisions that are directly related to the delinquency of minors.

It is practically impossible to imagine the collection of necessary evidence and the evidentiary procedure without the application of general evidentiary actions as well as special investigative actions in relation to legally prescribed criminal offenses for which the application of these specific actions can be determined. The Criminal Procedure Code prescribes general evidentiary and special investigative actions as well as restrictive legal conditions for their application. It is undisputed that the position of the prosecutor in the evidentiary procedure regarding the determination of the existence of a certain criminal offense and guilt depends on the volume and qualitative component of the evidence collected in the investigation, which means that the segment of the application of general and special investigative actions in relation to legality of collected evidence and respect for human rights and freedoms, is very important. The burden of proof is on the acting prosecutor, who has a leading and supervisory role in the investigation in relation to authorized officials in terms of the implementation of mentioned evidentiary actions and the collection of necessary evidence. It follows from the above stated that in each specific case, for the application of general evidentiary actions and special investigative actions, it is necessary to meet restrictive legal requirements. Also, this paper covers the implementation or enforcement aspect regarding the initiation and application of these evidentiary actions.

Every human activity, regardless of its nature, type and other specifics, strives to achieve the highest possible efficiency. In that sense, it is necessary to observe the tendency of the efficiency of criminal proceedings in terms of clarifying and resolving certain criminal matters, as well as making a court decision. The efficiency of the criminal procedure is directly manifested and articulated through the criminal procedure activities that are undertaken by the criminal procedure subjects during the realization of the criminal procedure task. The intention of the authors is to recognize, identify and emphasize the key or most important aspects of the qualitative component in the work of the main and secondary criminal procedure subjects on which the efficiency of the criminal procedure directly depends. Also, attention and interest are focused on the mutual relationship, interaction and opposition of two tendencies, namely tendencies of efficiency of criminal procedure and tendencies of protection of basic human rights and freedoms with special reference to meeting the standard of proof in different phases of undertaking criminal proceedings.

In this paper, the authors analyse the legal nature of criminal procedure in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the special emphasis on reform processes of criminal procedure legislation and adoption and acceptance of new legal solutions over the past two decades, acknowledging the aspiration for effectiveness and protection of basic human rights and freedoms. For the purpose of effective criminal procedure, it identifies the main and secondary actors in criminal proceedings whose role is crucial from the aspect of shedding light on and resolving a certain criminal matter, as well as issuing a judicial decision. To that end, the role and importance of those actors in taking procedural actions to carry out a criminal procedure task is emphasised for the purpose of understanding the legal nature, structure and course of the criminal procedure, and achieving the scope of legally prescribed rights of the suspect, that is, the defendant. In addition, special attention is paid to the specific procedural situation and status of an underage person in the criminal law as the perpetrator and injured parties in a criminal case, taking into account their age as the basis for the differentiation and protection in relation to adults.

In this paper, the central part presents the solution of the criminal-procedural task, that is, the clarification and solution of a specific criminal matter in criminal proceedings of Bosnia and Herzegovina by criminal-law entities, with special attention to restrictive legal conditions of a criminal-procedural nature, as well as certain problems and dilemmas of a practical nature. The extremely dynamic development of modern criminal procedural law in the last two decades is also characterized by the adoption of new criminal procedural solutions with a pronounced tendency of humanization, which directly relates to the catalog of the rights of the suspect or accused person. In order to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings, the conceptual determination and differentiation of the criminal matter as the main subject of the criminal proceedings was made to the criminal matter in an unfair and fair sense, with reference to the practical aspect of the efficient conduct of the criminal proceedings and the illumination and settlement of the criminal matter, respecting the standards of proof. Given the nature of the criminal proceedings, in addition to the criminal matter as the main case, other secondary or ancillary issues are included which do not constitute a criminal offense but relate to the criminal matter (property claim, so-called prejudicial or preliminary issues and costs of the proceedings).