Negligent Rape in Croatian Criminal Law: Was Legal Reform Necessary?

Abstract

This paper discusses the issue of negligent rape and liability for unreasonable belief in the victim`s consent in the context of Croatian criminal law. Modern rape law presents many challenges to both lawmakers and judges, with criminalizing negligence being only one of those challenges. This became more interesting in Croatia after amendments to the Criminal Code in 2011 (in effect since 2013), that criminalized unreasonable mistake of facts in the crime of rape. Croatian rape law has undergone significant changes related to these amendments. However, this paper focuses only on the aspect of unreasonable mistake of consent, this being both the most controversial and of great practical importance. The first section describes the elements of rape according to the Croatian Criminal Code along with an interpretation of those elements in the jurisprudence of the Croatian Supreme Court. Special attention is placed on the problem of mens rea and (un)reasonable belief in consent. The discussion also identifies the reasons for reform and the impact of the Sexual Offences Act of England and Wales (2003), which served as a model for Croatian legislators. The second section analyzes the results of research conducted by Croatian judges on the relevant status of the mistake of facts defense, as well as the importance of the victim`s resistance in terms of achieving a conviction, with special regard to the rate of rape convictions in Croatian law. The third section reviews comparative regional laws (Slovenia, Serbia, and Montenegro) with the goal of positioning the new Croatian rape law in a regional context. The last section discusses the necessity of criminalization of the negligent form of rape from the perspective of trends and standards created in Croatian theory and jurisprudence in the years prior to this amendment of the law.

Violencia sexual y derecho penal: sobre los problemas contemporáneos en la interpretación del tipo penal de violación sexual en el Código Penal del Perú

“…Lo antes dicho no significa negar que muchos casos presentarán el problema de que el sujeto activo haya actuado en un error de tipo vencible o que, de plano, haya actuado de manera negligente, pero no es el momento de analizar a profundidad este problema. Sin embargo, conviene destacar que algunas legislaciones internacionales como la sueca y la croata han incorporado tipos penales de violación sexual en la modalidad negligente (Mrčela et al, 2020).…”

A long way to end rape in the European Union: Assessing the commission’s proposal to harmonise rape law, through a feminist lens

“…For a false belief to be considered unreasonable, case-law usually evaluates 'not only the (objective) standard of the average person in such circumstances, but also the (subjective) standard of the perpetrator'. 134 Nevertheless, as Mason points out, this assessment risks leading to the acquittal of the offender, who is seldom equipped to detect genuine consent because they live in a society where gender stereotypes and rape myths are common. Accordingly, she continues, for the criminalisation of rape by gross negligence to be effective, it is necessary to conceptualise this notion from a moral angle.…”