VOCIARE - survey

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ARTICLE 3 - RIGHT TO UNDERSTAND AND BE UNDERSTOOD

Member States shall take appropriate measures to assist victims to understand and to be understood from the first contact and during any further necessary interaction they have with a competent authority in the context of criminal proceedings. Communications with victims should be provided in simple and accessible language, orally or in writing. Such communications shall take into account the personal characteristics of the victim, including (but not limited to) any disability. Victims should, in principle, be allowed to be accompanied by a person of their choice in the first contact.

ARTICLE 4 - RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM THE FIRST CONTACT WITH A COMPETENT AUTHORITY

Member States shall ensure that victims are offered, without unnecessary delay, from their first contact with a competent authority, information about the type of support the victims can obtain and from whom; the procedures for making a formal complaint; how and under what conditions they can obtain protection, access legal advice and legal aid; access to compensation; entitlement to interpretation and translation; special measures if they are resident in another Member State; contact details for communications about their case; available restorative justice services; how and under what conditions expenses incurred as a result of their participation in the criminal proceedings can be reimbursed.

ARTICLE 5 - RIGHTS OF VICTIMS WHEN MAKING A COMPLAINT

Member States shall ensure that victims who wish to make a complaint with regard to a criminal offence and who do not understand or speak the language of the competent authority be enabled to make the complaint in a language that they understand or by receiving the necessary linguistic assistance.

ARTICLE 6 - RIGHT TO RECEIVE INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR CASE

Member States shall ensure that victims are notified without unnecessary delay of their right to receive information related to criminal proceedings: any decision not to proceed with or to end an investigation or not to prosecute the offender; the time and place of the trial, and the nature of the charges against the offender; of any final judgement in a trial and of information about the state of the criminal proceedings, in accordance with their role in the criminal justice system; about the reason which led to the above mentioned decisions; notification in case the person remanded in custody, prosecuted or sentenced concerning the victim is released from or has escaped detention.

ARTICLE 7 - RIGHT TO INTERPRETATION AND TRANSLATION

Member States shall ensure that victims who do not understand or speak the language of the criminal proceedings are provided, upon request, with interpretation at least during any interviews or questioning and with translation of information essential to the exercise of their rights in criminal proceedings in accordance with their role. Victims may challenge a decision not to provide interpretation or translation.

ARTICLE 8 - RIGHT TO ACCESS VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES

Member States shall ensure that victims have access to confidential victim support services, free of charge, before, during and for an appropriate time after criminal proceedings. Member States shall facilitate the referral of victims, by the competent authority that received the complaint to victim support services. Member States shall take measures to establish specialist support services in addition to, or as an integrated part of, general victim support services. Member States shall ensure that access to any victim support service is not dependent on a victim making a formal complaint with regard to a criminal offence to a competent authority.

ARTICLE 9 - SUPPORT FROM VICTIM SUPPORT SERVICES

Victim support services shall, as a minimum, provide: a) information, advice and support relevant to the rights of victims; b) information about or direct referral to any relevant specialist support services in place; c) emotional and psychological support; d) advice relating to financial and practical issues arising from the crimes; e) advice relating to the risk and prevention of secondary and repeat victimisation, of intimidation and of retaliation.

Specialist support services shall develop and provide: a) shelters or any other appropriate interim accommodation for victims; b) targeted and integrated support for victims with specific needs.

ARTICLE 10 – RIGHT TO BE HEARD

Member States shall ensure that victims may be heard during criminal proceedings and may provide evidence. Where a child victim is to be heard, due account shall be taken of the child’s age and maturity.

ARTICLE 12 – RIGHT TO SAFEGUARDS IN THE CONTEXT OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SERVICES

Member States shall take measures to safeguard the victim from secondary and repeat victimisation, from intimidation and from retaliation, to be applied when providing any restorative justice services. Member States shall facilitate the referral of cases, as appropriate to restorative justice services.

ARTICLE 17 – RIGHTS OF VICTIMS RESIDENT IN ANOTHER MEMBER STATE

Member States shall ensure that authorities can take appropriate measures to minimise the difficulties faced where the victim is a resident of a Member State other than that where the criminal offence was committed. The authorities of the Member State where the criminal offence was committed shall be in a position:
a) to take a statement immediately after the complaint is made to the competent authority;
b) to have recourse to video conferencing and telephone conference calls for the purpose of hearing victims who are resident abroad.
Member States shall ensure that victims of a criminal offence committed in Member States other than that where they reside may make a complaint to the competent authorities of the Member State of residence, if they are unable to do so in the Member State where the criminal offence was committed or, in the event of a serious offence, as determined by national law of that Member State, if they do not wish to do so.
Member States shall ensure that the competent authority to which the victim makes a complaint transmits it without delay to the competent authority of the Member State in which the criminal offence was committed, if the competence to institute the proceedings has not been exercised by the Member State in which the complaint was made.

ARTICLE 18 – RIGHT TO PROTECTION

Member States shall ensure that measures are available to protect victims and their family members from secondary and repeat victimisation, from intimidation and from retaliation, including against the risk of emotional or psychological harm, and to protect the dignity of victims during questioning and when testifying.

ARTICLE 19 – RIGHT TO AVOID CONTACT BETWEEN VICTIM AND OFFENDER 

Member States shall establish the necessary conditions to enable avoidance of contact between victims and their family members, where necessary, and the offender within premises where criminal proceedings are conducted, unless the criminal proceedings require such contact. Member States shall ensure that new court premises have separate waiting areas for victims.

ARTICLE 20 – RIGHT TO PROTECTION OF VICTIMS DURING CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS

Member States shall ensure that during criminal investigations: a) interviews of victims are conducted without unjustified delay; b) the number of interviews of victims is kept to a minimum and interviews are carried out only where strictly necessary for the purposes of the criminal investigation; c) victims may be accompanied by their legal representative and a person of their choice; d) medical examination are kept to a minimum and are carried out only where strictly necessary for the purposes of the criminal proceedings.

ARTICLE 21 – RIGHT TO PROTECTION OF PRIVACY

Member States shall ensure that competent authorities may take during the criminal proceedings appropriate measures to protect the privacy. Furthermore, Member States shall ensure that competent authorities may take all lawful measures to prevent public dissemination of any information that could lead to the identification of a child victim. Member States shall encourage the media to take self-regulatory measures.

ARTICLE 22 – INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT OF VICTIMS TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC PROTECTION NEEDS

Member States shall ensure that victims receive a timely and individual assessment to identify specific protection needs due to their particular vulnerability to secondary and repeat victimisation, to intimidation and to retaliation.

ARTICLE 23 – RIGHT TO PROTECTION OF VICTIMS WITH SPECIFIC PROTECTION NEEDS DURING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Member States shall ensure that victims with specific protection needs who benefit from special measures identified as a result of an individual assessment, may benefit from the following measures: a) interviews with the victim being carried out in premises designed or adapted for that purpose; b) interviews with the victim being carried out by or through professionals trained for that purpose; c) all interviews with the victim being conducted by the same persons; d) all interviews with victims of sexual violence, gender-based violence or violence in close relationships being conducted by a person of the same sex as the victim, if the victim so wishes. Victims with special protection needs shall also have the following measures available: a) measures to avoid visual contact between victims and offenders; b) measures to ensure that the victim may be heard in the courtroom without being present; c) measures to avoid unnecessary questioning concerning the victim’s private life not related to the criminal offence; d) measures allowing a hearing to take place without the presence of the public.

ARTICLE 24 – RIGHT TO PROTECTION OF CHILD VICTIMS DURING CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS

Member States shall ensure that where the victim is a child: a) in criminal investigations, all interviews with the child victim may be audiovisually recorded; b) in criminal investigations, and proceedings, competent authorities appoint a special representative for child victims where the holders of parental responsibility are precluded from representing the child victim as a result of a conflict of interest between them and the child victim, or where the child victim is unaccompanied or separated from the family; c) where the child victim has the right to a lawyer, he or she has the right to legal advice and representation, in his or her own name, in proceedings where there is, or there could be, a conflict of interest between the child victim and the holders of parental responsibility.

ARTICLE 25 - TRAINING OF PRACTITIONERS

Member States shall ensure that professionals likely to come into contact with victims (e.g. police officers, judges, lawyers, victim support workers) receive training in order to increase their awareness of the needs of the victims and treat them in an impartial, respectful and professional manner.

ARTICLE 26 - COOPERATION AND COORDINATION OF SERVICES

Member States shall facilitate cooperation between Member States to improve the access of victims to their rights. This can include exchange of best practices, consultation in individual cases, and assistance to European networks. Member States should also raise awareness of the rights set out in the Directive through information and awareness raising campaigns as well as research and education programmes.