Jasmina Rajković ^*

ACQUISITION, POSSESSION AND CARRYING OF WEAPONS UNDER THE LAW ON WEAPONS AND AMMUNITATION IN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA

Summary

The Republic of Serbia's strategic commitment to European integration includes the harmonization of all relevant domestic regulations with European Union regulations, including the legal regulations for the acquisition, possession and carrying of weapons. The Law on Weapons and Ammunition was passed on February 20, 2015, and it went into effect on March 5, 2016. The new law on weapons and ammunition was supposed to accomplish two things. The first is to enable effective control of weapon possession, thereby preventing misuse and improving the security of citizens of the Republic of Serbia. The second is to allow owners of legally possessed weapons to possess weapons without restriction and to use them for the legally permitted purposes of hunting, sports and collecting. The problem that will be addressed in this paper is an examination of the achievement of these two objectives nearly six years after the law's enactment. The author conducted this analysis by comparing basic statistical data on weapons from the start of the "new" law's application to basic statistical data on weapons from the start of the "old" law's application on weapons and ammunition. Finally, the author makes recommendations for more effective implementation of the Law on weapons and ammunition, as well as recommendations for future solutions in the areas of weapon acquisition, possession and carrying.

Key words: weapons, acquisition of weapons, possession of weapons and carrying weapons.

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* Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia, master engineer of management, criminal specialist.