Ensuring respect for victims' rights in Europe
October 6, 2022
From 3 to 5 October, the first of three seminars planned as part of "Victims, Information, Compensation in Trials, Investigation" (VICTI), a European project led by the ENM, took place in Paris. 69 judicial actors from 11 European countries came together to exchange viewpoints on respect for victims' rights in so-called "exceptional" criminal proceedings and in particular the investigation phase.
Establishing minimum standards applicable to victims' rights
The aim of the VICTI project is to ensure the effective implementation of the 2012 Directive on victims' rights in so-called "exceptional" cases, namely those involving large numbers of victims.
"Its main objective is to establish some minimum standards for guaranteeing the rights of victims in the Member States of the European Union and to share the good practices established in the countries that have been confronted with these "exceptional" trials, to ensure victims are kept informed of what is happening throughout the procedure, to accompany and support them through the formalities involving them and ensure they receive fair redress for the harm suffered as quickly as possible," explains Sylvain Colomer, member of the judiciary and project officer with the International Department of the ENM, one of the officers in charge of the VICTI project. "The Directive guarantees victims four series of rights: information, support, protection, participation in criminal proceedings," he adds.
These "exceptional" cases can involve environmental crimes, terrorism, public health and even cybercrime. "There are many examples in France and Europe that show how topical the issues connected to "exceptional" proceedings are, including the Bataclan case in 2015 or the Flight MH17 crash in 2014," says Emilie Breyne, cooperation officer in the International Department of the ENM, also in charge of the VICTI project.
Sharing practices with a proven record of success
More and more "exceptional" proceedings
Coordinated by the ENM and designed in partnership with the Belgian, Spanish, Italian and Romanian judicial training institutions, as well as with European Network on Victims' Rights (ENVR) and the Delegation of the Bars of France (Délégation des Barreaux de France - DBF), with funding from the European Union, this project comes at a time when the number of "exceptional" cases of this kind is growing in Europe. "The number of "exceptional" cases, the scale of the investigations to be done and the difficulty of reconciling criminal procedure and victims' rights give an idea of the scale of the challenge facing us in the VICTI project," says Ingrid Derveaux, subdirector in charge of the International Department at the ENM.
Exchanges between participants and European experts
"This first seminar brought together all the actors of the judicial world who have been confronted with these issues (judges, prosecutors, lawyers, court clerks, specialised assistants, forensic scientists, representatives of victim support associations, civil servants from European justice ministries and advisors from the French Interministerial Delegation for Victim Support), taking a multidisciplinary approach, to enable them to share their experiences, suggest solutions or talk about remedies that have been applied in the face of the difficulties encountered during this type of investigation," explains Haffide Boulakras, Assistant Director of the ENM.
It is clear that sharing practices already implemented to guarantee that victims' rights are respected during "exceptional" proceedings is a way of promoting and duplicating those that have proved their worth. Over the 3-day session, the 69 judicial actors, who came from 11 European countries, were thus able to cover several topics linked to the pre-trial investigation phase: "Identifying and listing victims"; "Managing the provision of information to victims during the investigation", "Interviewing victims - hearing victim's voices" and "Expert assessments when dealing with large numbers of victims". The speakers included judges, prosecutors, a doctor, the president of a victim support association and a police chief, all of whom have experience of managing "exceptional" investigations.
In addition, a study visit was organised to the French Gendarmerie Forensic Institute (Institut de recherche criminelle de la Gendarmerie nationale - IRCGN), specifically on the topic of dealing with the victims of mass crimes, with a particular focus on experiences in Ukraine and a presentation of the forensic science resources, means of identification and disaster scene management.
Good practice fact sheets available
"These discussions will lead, at the end of the seminar, to the preparation of a series of "good practice fact sheets" with the aim of ensuring each victim gets recognition of their status as a victim, respect for their rights and redress for the harm suffered," explains Haffide Boulakras. These fact sheets will be available to the participants on the ENM's learning platform and then distributed widely to Justice professionals in the different partner European countries.
Two more seminars in 2022 and 2023
The project continues into 2022 and 2023, with the organisation of 2 more seminars on victims' place in the criminal trial (in Paris) and then on the compensation of victims in "exceptional" cases (in Italy).