DOI: 10.47743/jss-2025-71-1-12

Abstract: In accordance with the functions of punishments, when the judge decides on the specific punishment applied to a defendant, it is assumed that he achieves a fine balance between the function of coercion, the function of re-education, the function of exemplarity and the function of elimination. The first two are subsumed by the feature of punishment as a measure of coercion and the last two are subsumed by the feature of punishment as a means of re-education, that any punishment must reflect, both for those who commit crimes and for society in general, increasing the feeling of social security and emphasizing the preventive nature of the punishment. This balance is difficult to achieve in contemporary society, marked by ultra-fast communication processes through remote means of communication. Mass media and social media bring to the forefront the controversial casuistry of the courts, and the abundance of information sources makes it impossible to isolate judges from the opinions that social influencers launch in the public space. The purpose of this article is to analyse the impact of the pressure that public opinion, formed by the discourses in mass media, online media and social media, has on the concrete application of punishments. The research question we pose is whether public opinion pressure is likely to affect, the balance between the coercive nature and the preventive and re-educational nature of the punishment, when the punishment is established. The discussions focus on the impact that these could have on the impartiality of judges with regard to the analysis of certain social trends or phenomena and in relation to what they consider that society expects from the solutions they pronounce, especially in highly publicized cases. Our conclusions are that it would be appropriate to develop mechanisms for the psycho-cognitive protection of judges from social and media pressure during the resolution of cases that are publicized or have a great potential for impact on public opinion.

Keywords: punishments, application of punishments, functions of punishment, characters of punishment.

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