Project Updates

LIGA on the side of victims of crime

In December 2007, under the auspices of the Minister of Justice Jiří Pospíšil, Liga held a roundtable, entitled; “Legislative protection against secondary victimisation during criminal proceedings, and the right to privacy.” The conference was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Justice and academics, as well as by representatives from a number of NGOs.

During the roundtable, The League of Human Rights presented its legal analysis and recommendations, for strengthening the legislative protection of victims of crimes against further or secondary victimisation, a phenomena which occurs after the victim has lodged their complaint with the police, and which continues on throughout the trial process. Secondary victimisation occurs when the legal system provides inadequate protection for the victims of the crime being tried, which includes both, inadequate legal protection and the insensitivity of the authorities towards the victim during the court proceedings, where the vulnerable nature of the victim is not taken into consideration. Thus the victim’s psychological state is not considered, and therefore not catered for, causing further harm and damage to the victim, and hence making them, through the process of the trial, a victim yet again.

The League also presented its analysis and proposals regarding the protection of privacy rights of victims of crime.

The roundtable discussion also focused on the following topics: the special category of vulnerable victims in foreign legal systems; the specific recommendation to adopt legislative measures for the protection of victims of crime against secondary victimization, and the protection of their privacy; and the special law on protection of victims of crime in foreign legal systems, and the need to adopt such law in the Czech Republic. The full text of the analysis can be found (in Czech only) here.

Liga’s next roundtable will be held on 13th February 2008 at the venue of Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, and will discuss following topics: free legal aid for victims of crime; informing victims about their legal rights; compensation for victims for non-pecuniary damage; and state sponsored compensation of victims of crime.

These roundtables are organized as a part of Liga’s comprehensive project towards strengthening the protection of human rights of victims of crimes, and are financed by grants from Iceland and Lichtenstein, through the framework of EHP financial system, and also from Norway, through the NROS foundation. One of the aims of the roundtables is to provide a positive contribution to the discussion on the new proposal for the Czech ‘Criminal Procedure Code’, as well as to improve the rights of victims of crime in the Czech legal system.