Legislation of INTERPOL member states on missing Children

The categories of disappearance of children:

• runaways from home
• runaways from education institutes
• escapes from correction home and juvenile prison
• lost children
• parental abductions
• abductions by unknown persons
• children missing in suspicious circumstances.

Whenever we talk about children missing under suspicious circumstances we can already talk about suspicion that a missing person could be a victim of a felony under one of the following criminal offences:

• abduction of minors (Art. 200 of the PC of RS)
• kidnapping (Art. 144 of the PC of RS)
• neglect and maltreatment of minors (Art. 201 of the PC of RS)
• criminal offences against life and health (Ch. 15 of the PC of RS)
• criminal offences against sexual integrity (Ch. 19 of the PC of RS).

Cases of parental abductions are treated as criminal offences of abduction of minors. if the elements of criminal offence are present (Art. 200 of the PC of RS). In cases of international parental abduction of children we act under the provisions of the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Annual statistics

We compile annual statistic on cases of criminal offences against children and within this also the statistics on cases of child abductions and kidnapping. We also compile statistics on other categories of missing children.

National legislations.

Article 144 ‘Kidnapping’ of the Republic of Slovenia Penal Code :

" (1) Whoever abducts another in order to compel him or any other person to perform an act or to omit to perform an act or to suffer any harm shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years.

(2) Whoever commits the offence under the preceding paragraph against a minor or threatens the kidnapped person with murder or serious bodily harrn shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not less than one and not more than ten years.

(3) The perpetrator of any of the offences under the first or second paragraphs of the present article who releases the kidnapped person before the payment of a ransom, the extortion of which was the motive of the kidnapping of that person, may be granted a reduction or remission of his sentence. "

Article 200 ‘Abduction of Minors’ of the Republic of Slovenia Penal Code :

" (1) Whoever unlawfully abducts a minor from his parent, adoptive parent, guardian, institution or from a person to whom the minor has been entrusted, or whoever detains a minor or prevents him from living with the person he is entitied to live with, or whoever malevolently prevents the implementation of an enforceable judgement referring to a minor shall be punished by a fine or sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year.

(2) In the event of a suspension of sentence, the court may place a proviso, on the suspension by ordering the perpetrator to relinquish a minor to the rightful claimant or to make possible the implementation of an enforceable judgement referring to the minor.

(3) If the perpetrator under the first paragraph of the present article has relinquished a minor to the rightful claimant by his own free will and made possible the implementation of the enforceable judgement, his punishment may be remitted. "

International texts.

Slovenia has signed and ratified the 1993 Hague Convention. The Government of the Republic of Slovenia has nominated the Ministry of the Interior as the central executive authority.

Slovenia concluded bilateral agreements on co-operation in cases of abduction of a minor by one of its parents with majority of foreign countries. In cases of international parental abduction of children we act as the central authority under the provisions of the Convention on Civil Legal Aspects of International Kidnapping of Children.

Police investigations.

The notion "missing person" is not defined in details by our legislation. The Criminal Procedure Act deals with missing persons under the provisions of art. 549, par.2, giving permission to publish photographs of missing person if it is suspected that death or disappearance of a person were caused by a criminal deed. It is therefore a specific duty of the law-enforcement authorities in the pre-penal procedure defined by the art. 148 par. 1 of the CPA (Criminal Procedure Act).

Thus the legal base for the search of missing person and related police activity is always a presumption, based on reasons and circumstances of disappearing of a person, pointing out a suspicion that a missing person is either a victim or a perpetrator of a criminal offence. The duty of the police, under the provisions of the art. 148, par. 1 of the CPA, in all such cases is to carry out the necessary tasks to find the missing person, which might be a victim or a perpetrator of a crime, and to protect all evidence or traces. These relevant factors are therefore the reasons, the circumstances or the motives of disappearance.

The tactics and methodology of police work in the investigation of cases of missing persons in which the disappearance of a person is anyway connected with a crime, must be equal to the investigation of other criminal offences. This means the implementation of all criminalistic tactical and technical measures which are used within the frame of crime investigation profession and in connection with the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act.

In the Republic of Slovenia the missing juvenile persons are dealt with on the state level by the CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION DIRECTORATE OF MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR, while on the regional level they are dealt with by the PUBLIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATIONS (regional police authorities).

Collaboration with international organizations, non governmental organizations (N.G.O.) or private associations.

Police co-operates also with non-government organisations in relation with the issue of missing children and minors, specially in cases of suspected abuse of children and in cases of children which are victims of family violence.

INTERPOL

In Slovenia police has centralised police registers for recording the missing persons. These registers are kept with the NCB INTERPOL at the M. 1. on the base of the search warrants for missing persons, warrants issued by the Court and by the Manager of the institution in which a juvenile person served its sentence of institutional measure.

The NCB INTERPOL keeps yearly statistics of missing persons. The issue of runaways is shown in the yearly report and the cases of criminal offences are presented in the statistical report on crime in the Republic of Slovenia.

In regard of the INTERPOL activities in the field of missing juvenile persons, the action is helpful, bearing in mind that INTERPOL sends updated reports on missing juvenile persons, both to the General Assembly as through the X-400 messages. The INTERPOL bureau's from foreign countries are also regularly sending us return information.

Media (TV, Internet...)

Besides the police search warrants for missing juveniles and children, police officers may use in Slovenia also various media (radio, television, newspapers, Internet). In these media they can publish the photograph of the missing person, personal description and description of circumstances of disappearance.

Police has a special anonymous telephone line 1080-12001 which can be used by citizens to register their complaints or information.

However, there is no independent telephone number that could be used for complaints and information related to cases linked with juvenile persons.

Ministry of the Interior has got its own official Internet home page http://www.mnz.si and a special page with data and photographs of the missing persons http://www.mnz.si/slo/uks/osebe/uvod.html).

Legislation of INTERPOL member states on missing Children