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Whistleblowing is an important activity not only for combating corruption, but also other irregularities and illegal actions. Protection of the environment is certainly a matter of public interest, and the prevention of crimes that violate its integrity is useful above all from the aspect of protecting peoples' lives and health. In a large number of cases, environmental crime is very difficult to detect and prove. The role of the whistle-blower is of particular importance for the timely detection of environmental offenses and the reduction of occurrence or mitigation of harmful consequences. In this paper, we start from the assumption that whistle-blowers in the field of environmental protection are faced with a large number of challenges and are not adequately protected. They are mostly either fired by their employer or forced due to various pressures to quit without the possibility of new employment. Considering the importance of their role in the field of environmental protection, the possibility of improving their position should be reconsidered. In order to make recommendations for the improvement of both national regulations and practices related to the protection of whistle-blowers, in this work we primarily use the method of content analysis, as well as the dogmatic-legal method.

There is no generally accepted definition of economic criminality. The reason for this may be the frequent change of its content, i.e., of the criminal acts it includes. Together with the development of socioeconomic relations, new forms of the mentioned type of criminality also develop, so perhaps the definition neither should nor could be universal. Transitional societies have faced significant changes both in the field of political organization and in the field of economy. The most noticeable consequences of transition and switching to market economy were high unemployment and social stratification of the population. This had a negative impact on social values and morality, and therefore led to an increase in criminality. The aim of this research is to indicate the causes and forms of economic criminality in transitional societies. We start from the assumption that timely preparation for significant social changes, in terms of establishing adequate legal regulations and the existence of independent control mechanisms of certain economic processes, is of great importance for the prevention of economic crimes. By applying the content analysis, we try to show that even the countries in which the process of political and economic transition has long since ended can also face problems that potentially contribute to a large number of perpetrators of crimes that fall within the domain of economic criminality remaining unpunished, which directly threatens the principle of the rule of law.

Background/Aim. Quality of life (QoL) is one of the out-come measures for patients with chronic diseases. Mental health issues often impact the QoL of cancer patients. Cancer patients with a good QoL have a longer life expectancy and are able to lead a more productive and social life. The aim of the study was to determine the association of mental health with the QoL, as well as to determine significant predictors of QoL in patients with breast cancer (BC). Methods. The study included 118 patients treated at the Specialized Breast Cancer Department of the Oncology Clinic of the University Clinical Center Niš, Serbia. The study’s inclusion criteria were the presence of early-stage nonmetastatic BC and completed surgical treatment. The following questionnaires were used: the general sociodemographic questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, Early Maladaptive Schema questionnaire - short form (SQ-SF), Flanagan’s Quality of Life Scale (QoLS), Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale, Berlin Social Support Scales (BSSS), Health Locus of Control. Results. A statistically significant negative correlation was found with emotional state, i.e., anxiety score, depressiveness score, total stress score, and physical aggression score, while QoL correlated positively with all subscales of the perceived social support (PSS) questionnaire. QoL was significantly different for patients with the following early maladaptive schemas: emotional deprivation, emotional inhibition, and a sense of entitlement/narcissism. Moreover, QoL differed significantly depending on partnership status, the presence of clinically significant anxiety, the presence of hormone-sensitive cancer, the presence of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive cancer, and time since diagnosis. Multiple linear regression was per-formed, and depression and PSS had the highest share. Conclusion. In our study, the presence of depressiveness and PSS were the best predictors of QoL of BC survivors.

In the value-added tax system of the European Union, the open market value provision is considered as a special anti-abuse measure. Serbian Law on Value-Added Tax allows the taxpayers to make supplies for the consideration lower than the open market value. In addition, the Law does not stipulate any anti-abuse measure similar to the open market value provision in EU VAT legislation. Between the connected parties, this could become an incentive to taypayers to abuse VAT in certain situations. Within the current domestic legislation, the principle of facticity is the only alternative measure to combat VAT abuse, but it should not be used for the correction of the taxable amount following the open market value. The stipulation of the open market value provision in domestic VAT legislation would be highly beneficial from the point of harmonizing the Serbian regulations with those of the European Union, as well as from the point of the protection of national fiscal system. Following the hypothesis that national legislation needs to be further harmonised with the EU VAT legislation, the authors in this paper used the normative dogmatic and content analysis methods with particular reference to the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In recent decades, the spread of incriminations in the economic field has been very present. One of the reasons for this is the harmonization of national legislation with acquis communautaire. Bearing in mind the views of other authors, in this paper we started from the assumptions that a large number of economic crimes are unnecessary, because their legal description could be subsumed under the already existing crimes, that excessive criminalization can contribute to problems in practice and that procedural legislation often does not follow the changes in substantive criminal legislation when they are carried out by non-criminal laws, as well as when changing and reforming criminal legislation, crimes prescribed by secondary criminal legislation are generally ignored. Starting from the mentioned assumptions, we try to make recommendations for the further direction of the development of substantive criminal legislation, which, in our opinion, should follow the narrowing of criminal law interventionism in the economic area. In this paper we have analyzed the provisions of secondary criminal legislation, which precisely contain the shortcomings pointed out by the authors when analyzing the need to reform substantive criminal legislation. Therefore, in this paper the dogmatic-legal method is dominant, and special attention is paid to the analysis of the provisions of the Law on Tax Procedure and Tax Administration and the Law on the Capital Market.

The right to a healthy environment is not explicitly mentioned in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms from 1950. The mentioned right is more recent and belongs to human rights of the third generation In the final Declaration of the United Nations conference on the human environment held in Stockholm in 1972, the basic human right to freedom, equality and adequate living conditions in an environment that allows an individual to live in dignity and wellbeing is mentioned for the first time. Although the right to a healthy environment is not mentioned in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, it is still given importance through the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, which is responsible for considering violations of the said Convention. The protection of that right is linked to other rights guaranteed by the Convention, such as, for example, the right to life, right to private and family life, etc. The aim of the research in this paper is to indicate the importance of establishing a guarantee of the right to a healthy environment, as well as the increasing importance of its protection as a prerequisite for the enjoyment of some other basic human rights. The paper uses the method of content analysis. In addition to the analysis of the Draft Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, we also analyze the content of the verdicts of the European Court of Human Rights.

Individuals with serious mental illness are more affected by emotional reactions, including suicidal behavior due to COVID‐19 and psychosocial consequences of pandemic. The current cross-sectional study aimed to explore the possible association of COVID-19 and suicidal behavior (suicide ideation and attempt) before and during pandemic-associated lockdown in Serbia. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 104 adult psychiatric inpatients admitted at Psychiatric Clinic, University Clinic Center Niš, Serbia, after ending lockdown and compared the obtained results with 181 adult psychiatric inpatients admitted during the same period in 2019 and 2018. Suicide ideation were more frequent in 2020 comparing with 2019 and 2018 (25 vs 12.5%, vs 9.41%; p < 0.05). Around 28% of patients with suicide attempts were exposed daily to the information related to COVID-19 coming from social media, while this frequency was significantly lower, only 7.55% (p < 0.1), among patients with no suicide ideation or attempts. Adjustment disorder was more frequent among patients with suicide attempts in comparison to the patients with suicide ideation (32 vs 11%), especially in patients without suicide ideation and attempts (32 vs 0%, p < 0.001). Of all studied patients with suicide attempts during 2020, 60% were not in the previous psychiatric treatment before admission.

In 2021, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment in the case of Halet v. Luxembourg, which sets a precedent in terms of protecting whistleblowers. Given the position of the Grand Chamber, it seems that the interpretation of the European Court of Human Rights in this case may have a deterrent effect on potential whistleblowers, especially those employed in multinational companies and corporations. At the level of the European Union in 2019, the Directive on the Protection of Persons Reporting Violations of European Union Rights was adopted, which was to be implemented in national legislation by the end of 2021. However, the question arises as to whether existing European standards contain sufficiently effective mechanisms for the protection of whistleblowers in all sectors or whether a higher level of protection can be provided at the national level. In an attempt to answer this question, we will first analyze the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Halet v. Luxembourg, then we will point out the provisions of Guja v. Moldova taken into account in passing the above judgment, and then we will look back to the judgment of Heinisch v. Germany, which also had an influence in the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Halet v. Luxembourg. In order to point out the unjustified expectations of whistleblowers to balance between the protection of public and private interests of any person, we point out the complexity of the content of the concept of public interest, and then analyze European standards in the field of whistleblower protection. The aim of the application of the mentioned methodology is to try to give recommendations for the improvement of the existing system of protection of whistleblowers, which seems to be very necessary in the private sector.

Background/Aim. A type of personality and negative emotional reactions could be important for clustering biological risk factors for a cardiovascular disease in patients with arterial hypertension (AH). This study investigated if the patients with AH and psychological characteristics of the Distressed Type of personality with elevated anxiety/depression/aggression, have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome (MS) and explored value of the assessed parameters for MS occurrence. Methods. A total of 85 patients with AH were included in the cross-sectional observational study. Type D Scale-14 (DS-14) was used to detect Type D (Distressed) personality. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) assessed the levels of anxiety and depression and the Buss Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ) was used for the assessment of aggression. The explored biological parameters included: blood pressure, lipid status, body mass index (BMI), the occurrence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and MS. Results. Type D patients were frequently more anxious, aggressive and had more frequent MS compared to non-type D. Type D females were younger, more anxious and had a greater prevalence of DM than those with non-type D personality. A multivariate analysis revealed that in type D personality patients with AH, depression had predictive value for MS. Conclusion. The occurrence of both MS and AH was in correlation with the type D personality, anxiety and depression. Early detection/treatment of depression in patients with AH and Type D personality could decrease a risk of metabolic syndrome.

This paper presents the results of the survey of fourth-grader to eight-grade students in primary schools in the Republic of Serbia on the attitude towards verbal peer bullying in the digital environment. Communication via the internet and mobile phones was quite prevalent during the state of emergency and online classes. Therefore, during the research, the period immediately after the last cycle of online teaching from April to June 2021, was targeted. The assumptions we started from in our research are based on some previous research. Therefore, in the first and second part of the paper we refer to the research results and conclusions of other authors. The third part of the paper analyzes the results of our research conducted in 2021 on the basis of an anonymous survey. In this way, we tried to give recommendations for improving the prevention of verbal peer bullying in the digital environment among students from the fourth to the eight grade of primary school.

Background/Aim. Functional mitral regurgitation (FMR) is a common entity in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR). The aim of this study was to examine evolution of moderate and moderate to severe FMR after an isolated AVR, to identify prognostic indicators for persistent MR postoperatively, and to offer the recommendation regarding surgical intervention for moderate and moderate to severe FMR at the time of AVR for AS. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed 39 consecutive patients with moderate and moderate to severe FMR at the time of isolated AVR from January 2007 to December 2013. We collected preoperative and postoperative echocardiographic data to determine the evolution of FMR after AVR. Patients were divided into the persistent (n = 14) and improved FMR group (n = 25). Secondary division was into the prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM, n = 7) and non prosthesis-patient mismatch group (non PPM, n = 32 patients). Late follow-up echocardiography was completed in 100% (39/39) of patients. Results. FMR improved postoperatively (MR ˂ 2+) in 64% (25/39) of patients, while 36% (14/39) of patients had persistent MR ≥ 2). In comparison to the persistent group, the patient with improved FMR had significant decrease in the left ventricular enddiastolic diameter, left ventricular end-systolic diameter, posterior wall and septum thickness postoperatively. The same indicators of reverse remodeling were found in the non PPM group in comparison to the PPM group. The incidence of postoperative FMR improvement was higher in the non PPM group (65.6%, p = 0.001) in comparison to the PPM group (42.9%, p = 0.125). The mean follow-up duration was 39.5 ± 23.5 months. Conclusion. In accordance with previous studies, this study also showed improvement in FMR following AVR surgery. Improvement in MR degree was associated with echocardiographic parameters of reverse left ventricular remodeling. Conservative approach is advisable in patients with moderate and moderate to severe FMR, believing that repair or replacement is unnecessary at the time of AVR for severe AS. PPM could prevent downgrading of FMR, stressing out the importance of choosing the prosthesis of adequate size.

In the emerging business environment and with the rapidly growing contemporary business trends, the concepts of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs tend to adapt to the new circumstances of business practice. According to the entrepreneurship theory, entrepreneurs possess universal characteristics, but some characteristics of entrepreneurs are conditioned by the specificities of their own national culture. Also, entrepreneurship concepts vary from one country to another. The link between entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial behavior and cultural values has been defined by a framework of dimensions of national cultures first introduced by a scientist - Geert Hofstede. Numerous studies on the subject point to a strong link between entrepreneurship and national culture. The aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical overview of the most important facts regarding the connection between entrepreneurship and national culture in general, with an emphasis on the national culture of the Republic of Serbia and its entrepreneurial environment.

In the article, the authors analyze the fundamental challenges in the application of the ne bis in idem principle in the practice of the European Court for Human Rights and Court of Justice of the EU and their interpretation of the principle in relation to the application on the criminal offences and misdemeanour offences, including administrative penal offences, against the same person for the same acts. Article followed the development in interpretation of the principle by the European Court of Human Rights in Zolotukhin case to the interpretation of the Court of Justice of the EU in Menci case. European Courts jurisprudence could be used for dialogue on challenges that the Serbian judiciary and tax authories are facing in the interpretation of legislation and application of ne bis in idem principle on criminal and misdemeanour proceedings against the same person for the same acts. The articile provides the basis for discussion on the unification of court practice.

Establishing appropriate measures to protect the fiscal system at the level of EU Member States also includes the protection of the EU financial interests. That protection also means the prescription of tax offenses. These offenses are prescribed by national legislation of all States. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust their legal description with EU legal standards and to the practical requests. Tax misdemeanours are prescribed in all countries by tax law, but tax crimes in some countries are prescribed by primary and in some others by secondary criminal legislaton. In former Member States of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (excluding the Republic of Serbia) tax crimes are prescribed by primary criminal legislation, while Italian and German legislation contain specific solutions. In Italy tax crimes are prescribed by the Law on tax offenses, and in the Federal Republic of Germany by Fiscal Code. Bearing in mind that the German legislation had a major impact on the development of the criminal law of the Republic of Serbia, in this paper we analyse the provisions that prescribe tax offences in the Federal Republic of Germany. The objective of such analysis is to provide recommendations for possible improvement of the national legislation of the Republic of Serbia.