Quackery as a criminal offence

Acquiring appropriate professional qualifications enables one to provide certain medical treatments or other medical services. As the acquisition of material gain is often the motive for committing numerous criminal offenses as prescribed by the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia, it is often so with the criminal offense of quackery found in Article 254 of the Criminal Code. The reason for prescribing this act and sanctioning the perpetrator is that undertaking actions that require special education in the field of medicine without having it can cause damage to the health of another person, to a higher or lower degree. However, the sanctions occur regardless of whether in the specific case there was a consequence in the form of damage to or deterioration of the health of another person, as well as in the case when the perpetrator did not obtain material gain by taking specific actions without proper professional qualifications. Despite the fact that are witness to numerous testimonies of victims through the media, who out of ignorance decided to entrust their health to persons without proper qualifications, practice shows that a small number of criminal complaints is received by competent prosecutor's offices in Serbia and that a small number of court proceedings are conducted to prove guilt and the existence of a criminal offense.