ON THE QUALIFICATION OF ABSENCE FROM A MILITARY UNIT WITHOUT LEAVE COMMITTED UNDER MARTIAL LAW.

The norm on criminal liability for absence without leave from a military unit or place of service as well as failure to appear on time for service without valid reasons committed under martial law since 2001 has been repeatedly changed. This means that every time the previous edition of the norm was perceived as one that needed improvement. On the contrary each new edition of the norm should be better than the previous one and better meet the purposes of criminal law regulation. The purpose of the article is to investigate the evolution of the norm on responsibility for absence from a military unit or place of service without leave as well as failure to appear on time for service without valid reasons committed under martial law since 2001 and to determine what the disposition of the norm on responsibility for these acts should be. Under martial law the necessity to involve a concrete serviceman to perform certain (combat) tasks may arise immediately. As a result of absence from a military unit or place of service without leave as well as failure to appear on time for service without valid reasons there is no one to perform the duties that the serviceman was supposed to perform. On the contrary the state really needs these duties to be fulfilled. Therefore, criminal responsibility should be established for absence from a military unit or place of service without leave committed under martial law regardless of the duration of the act. Absence from a military unit or place of service even for a short period of time committed under martial law should not be recognized as an administrative offence. Failure to appear on time for service without valid reasons committed under martial law causes the same damage to on object of criminal law protection as the absence from a military unit or place of service without leave committed under martial law, the qualification and punishability of these acts should not differ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]