THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME – A COMPARATIVE APPROACH
THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS OF CRIME – A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Summary/Abstract: This article analyses the comparative approach regarding the role and the treatment of crime victims in three legal systems: The Common Law adversarial system, the European continental mostly inquisitorial system and the legal system of post-socialist countries. From the literature review and the normative analysis of criminal procedure codes of different countries some interesting conclusions emerge: 1.The role of the crime victim in the criminal procedure of continental countries is well defined and organized. The rights of the crime victim, such as: the right to access to justice, the right to compensation, the right to protection and the right to assistance, all find their particular place in the continental criminal procedure, whether that is a typical inquisitorial or an adversarial one. The victim can be compensated through the civil compensation claim decided within the criminal procedure, they can participate as active subjects of the procedure with specifically defined rights, whereas the examination process of the victim as a witness is supervised by the court and minimizes secondary victimization. 2.Common Law countries have more difficulties arranging a fair treatment of crime victims: they are excluded as active subjects of the criminal procedure (they only appear as witnesses), they cannot be compensated properly within the criminal procedure, they can be subjects of secondary victimization through the aggressive cross-examination process and they are excluded from the plea negotiation process. Some efforts are made through introducing the Victim Personal Statement and the Compensation Order schemes, however, it shows insufficient. 3.Post-socialist countries are in the process of reforming their legislation regarding the role of the victim but also other issues. They need to combine the best parts of both the Common Law and the Civil Law legal systems in order to have an efficient and fair criminal procedure.

• Details
• Contents