Trafficking of Minors in Croatia: Present Situation

Abstract

The offence of trafficking in persons, as a modern form of slavery, was introduced in Croatian Criminal Code four years ago. During this time there have been nine criminal procedures running against perpetrators who were charged with trafficking of minors. According to the official criminal records of Croatian National Committee for the Suppression of Trafficking in Persons the Public Prosecutor desisted from prosecution after investigation in the 2006 case in front of the County Court in Zadar. In the same year the Public Prosecutor decided not to prosecute a case in front of the County Court in Zagreb bearing in mind the accused were already being prosecuted for the same offence in Italy. Seven cases are still pending. Taking into account the fact there have been no final court judgments, and therefore, that these cases could have various outcomes, the main aim of this article is to analyze pending cases and to determine the modalities for committing the offences. Consideration will be given to cases with excessive threats or use of force against the minors and cases in which minors were deceived by perpetrators. Special attention will be given to endogenous and exogenous causes of trafficking of minors in Croatia. Impact and possible consequences of the offences on victims will be detected.

Keywords: trafficking of minors, case study, Croatia

JEL Classification: K10