The control and sanctioning of minor offences involving weapons in the Republic of Slovenia – a case study and suggestions for future regulation
Purpose:
The article is primarily aimed at expert readers who are interested in the topic. Readers can learn of the legal order in the field of minor offences involving weapons in the Republic of Slovenia and of its comparative aspects regulated in EU directives. The article is applicable in that the authors present several suggestions for changes to Slovenian weapons legislation.
Design/Methods/Approach:
The article applies descriptive and analytical methods as well as linguistic interpretation of the relevant regulations in the Republic of Slovenia and the EU. In defining the ratio legis of the regulations, the authors apply linguistic and teleological legal methods, while in conducting a comparative analysis of Slovenian and foreign regulation they apply a comparative legal method. The legal regulation in Slovenia, Italy, and Croatia is presented through the prism of the relevant EU regulation.
Findings:
The regulation of rights and obligations with reference to weapons has always been an extremely sensitive area. It is a generally accepted view that, by their nature, weapons are dangerous objects that can pose a direct threat to the life, health, and security of people and public order. Protection of these values is a fundamental objective of the Slovenian Weapons Act. The Act is based on Council Directive 91/477/EEC of 18 June 1991 on control of the acquisition and possession of weapons and its subsequent amendments. The objective of the Directive is to ensure that the EU member states establish weapons legislation that is as harmonised as possible.
Research Limitations / Implications:
The article discusses violations of weapons legislation (in Slovenia there is only one statute and several implementing regulations regulating this area) and the types of formal institutionalised control concerning how the competent authorities deal with and sanction violations concerning weapons. The authors present the actual treatment of criminal conduct in the field of weapons by presenting selected cases from the relevant case law. Regardless of the above-mentioned Directive, the differences between the Member States of the EU regarding the legal regulation of weapons are still substantial. This is further highlighted by means of a comparative analysis of the regulation of weapons and the control and sanctioning of minor offences concerning weapons in the countries neighbouring Slovenia, i.e. the Republic of Italy and the Republic of Croatia.
Practical Implications:
The article has practical value for expert readers as well as students of the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security at the M.A. and Ph.D. postgraduate levels. The definitions of categorical apparatuses of minor offence law involving weapons are appropriate and modern and therefore they contribute to greater expertise in this area.
Originality/Value:
The article is a review article and therefore its originality is limited. The authors do not provide new scientific findings but summarise and compare what is already regulated. The originality of the article lies in its form, i.e. the authors present the concepts in a context that is readable and easy to remember.
UDC: 351.753(497.4)(497.5)(450)
Keywords: control of weapons, minor offences, comparative regulation, Slovenia, Italy, Croatia