Murder in Croatian law


In Croatian law, murder is classified into 3 categories: ubojstvo, teško ubojstvo and usmrćenje according to the 10th section of the Criminal Law of 2011.

''Teško ubojstvo'': Murder with Special Circumstances

A person who: "1. murders another in a cruel or treacherous manner; 2. murders a person who is especially vulnerable due to his or her age, a severe physical or mental disorder or pregnancy; 3. murders a family member whom he or she has already abused; 4. murders another out of greed, ruthless revenge, hatred or other base motives; 5. murders another in order to commit or cover up another criminal offence;
6. murders an official person in relation to his or her performance of official duties."It is punishable with no less than 10 years imprisonment, or a long-term sentence.

''Ubojstvo'': Murder

This is classified any intentional killing of another human being with no special circumstances. Punishable with no less than 5 years of imprisonment.

''Usmrćenje'' and ''Prouzročenje smrti iz nehaja'': Manslaughter

There are three forms of usmrćenje, or reckless murder:
  • A murder that has been provoked - punishable no less than 1 year and not more than 10 years of prison.
  • Mother murdering their child after birth - six months to five years.
  • Mercy killing - up to three years.
There's also prouzročenje smrti iz nehaja, meaning involuntary manslaughter, which carries a penalty of six months to five years imprisonment.

Suicide and abortion

The criminal law also defines separate penalties for: