Truck driver Milomir Jaćimović will pay off the misdemeanor fine with prison instead of money. How misdemeanor sentences are converted into prison sentences in Serbia
Misdemeanor penalties se u Serbia in most cases they do not last prison, but fines are charged to the person who is punished.
Even if the misdemeanor fines are not collected, the convicted does not automatically go to prison, because the court first tries to collect, and the law foresees several possibilities.
For the trucking company Milomir Jaćimovićand there were no reliefs. His unpaid misdemeanor fines were converted into prison, which is also a possibility provided by the Law on Misdemeanors.
Due to the fact that he transported students to protests for free, he was given the status of an enemy of the state in the regime media. The police stopped his buses for no reason and confiscated them, unknown perpetrators punctured his tires and set fire to one of the buses.
Jaćimović claims that he has several misdemeanor sentences, but that summonses and court documents were not properly available to him while he was went on a hunger strike in front of the Banovina building in Novi Sad, that because of this he could not file complaints in a timely manner, and points out that he did not commit any violations.
He says that so far he has paid four million dinars in fines and asked the public not to pay him any more money to settle fines.
"I decided to take this step, my child is going on vacation. I can no longer pay those fines, which are not even written by law. They sent invitations even when I was on strike in front of the Banovina building, knowing that I could not receive those invitations, while 'students who want to study in Pionirski Park' are registered at Pionirski Park and get everything. I simply do not want to and I ask the people not to pay money for my fines. I will serve all these fines honorably and honestly. because at home it's the same for me - I don't do anything, no one can hire my buses," said Jaćimović.
His lawyer stated that because the mail was being returned as undelivered, the court documents were displayed on the court's notice board, after which they were considered served by law. According to that version of events, they found out about some procedures only when the deadlines for legal remedies had already expired.
Jaćimović was ordered by the Misdemeanor Court to report to serving his sentence due to unpaid fines and to report himself to the Klisa prison. His son and lawyer state that these are misdemeanor sentences that have been replaced by prison terms.
According to the Law on Misdemeanors, if a natural person does not pay a fine within the deadline, the court can replace the penalty with imprisonment, replace it with work in the public interest or collect it by forced means, from a bank account from earnings and the like, which is regulated by Article 314 of that law.
According to Article 41 of the aforementioned law, a day of imprisonment is counted as 1.000 dinars unpaid fine, and the maximum duration of the substitute prison sentence determined in this way is 90 days.
That's why many citizens never get to prison because the fine is enforced before that. In addition, if it is a misdemeanor warrant, such as a traffic ticket, paying within eight days usually pays only half of the fine.
The court has the legal authority to replace an unpaid fine imposed in misdemeanor proceedings with a prison sentence, but only after the sentence becomes enforceable and the deadline for voluntary payment has passed.
After the deadline for payment has expired, the court, in accordance with Article 315 of the Law on Misdemeanors, makes a special decision on enforcement, which decides whether to replace the unpaid fine with imprisonment, replace it with work in the public interest, or enforce it.
The law expressly states that the court makes the decision "appreciating the reasons of expediency and efficiency in each specific case", which means that replacement in prison is not an automatic consequence of every failure to pay.
Practically, the procedure looks like this: the court issues a verdict or a misdemeanor order, the defendant does not pay the fine within the deadline, and the court issues a decision on execution under Article 315.
The court in the judgment itself for a misdemeanor can immediately impose a prison sentence instead of a fine only if the law provides for a prison sentence for that particular misdemeanor.
A fine that has already been imposed can later become imprisonment for non-payment based on Articles 314, 315 and 41 of the Law on Misdemeanors.
Although Jaćimović emphasizes that he is not guilty and that he is not afraid of going to prison, given his unreserved support for the student-civic rebellion, there is a real danger that he will be harmed while he is in prison.
How dangerous serving a prison sentence can be in the event that the misdemeanor sentence is not paid with monetary compensation is also said the tragic death of pensioner Stanimir B. (74) whose death in KPZ Padinska Skela in 2024 caused a lot of public attention. He ended up in prison for a misdemeanor for which he did not pay 10.000 dinars, and then he lost his life there due to severe abuse.
Among the biggest dilemmas raised by the public regarding that case was - how is it possible for a man to be abused for days in an institution under supervision, without anyone noticing or reporting it in time. Stanimira B. was examined by the medical staff right before his death, but he allegedly did not report what was happening to him out of fear.
Real journalism costs money, and we will not be bought by tycoons and corporations. Support us with a one-time or monthly donation. The time for it is now!
Although the Shelter is intended for emergency care of homeless people, there are waiting lists for admission. With the arrival of winter, the situation becomes even more difficult. How the living conditions became so bad in the institution, which should provide a safe haven for the most vulnerable - is not known
NUNS demands an urgent investigation due to the threats sent to two Radar journalists who wrote about the Sky correspondence in which Aleksandar Vučić is mentioned. The association states that the threats also mention violence against children of journalists and warns of impunity
Almost a third of the estimated deaths occurred during a particularly intense heatwave between June 17 and July 1, when temperatures averaged 5,3°C above normal
Among fifteen-year-olds in Serbia, 53 percent of students in mathematics, 48 percent in reading and 43 percent in natural sciences are below the threshold of functional literacy.
"Identity card of your real estate" has the same legal force as the document issued at the counter and is valid before all competent institutions
There is, literally, no difference between the one who claims it is day in the middle of the night, or the one who claims to be a giraffe, from the claims we read on billboards: that Vučić is working to unify Serbs and that Serbia is doing better and better day by day.
The pre-election arrests due to the alleged "overthrow of the state" testify to the regime's panic. The bad news for them is - they can't arrest the whole people who decided to defend themselves from progressive beatings and election theft
The ring that tightens around Ćaciland Student list is getting narrower. Because there are more and more spoiled people who see the false prophet for what he is: a street obscener who is fighting Serbia
The archive of the weekly Vreme includes all our digital editions, since the very beginning of our work. All issues can be downloaded in PDF format, by purchasing the digital edition, or you can read all available texts from the selected issue.
See all
