Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA

What this is about

This European Union directive sets minimum standards so that victims of crime receive adequate information, support, and protection and can take part in criminal proceedings. It is addressed to the Member States, which had to transpose it into their domestic law, and it reaches the authorities involved in criminal proceedings, victim support services, and restorative justice services. It replaces Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA and requires respectful, sensitive, professional, and non-discriminatory treatment, adapted to each person's situation. It pays particular attention to children, persons with disabilities, and victims of gender-based violence, violence in close relationships, and terrorism. It defines restorative justice and establishes specific safeguards for those who choose to take part in such processes.

Annotated table of contents

• Whereas (Recitals), 1-72. Explain the rationale of the instrument, its background in the Union, and the scope of each right. They include guidance on gender-based violence, indirect victims, individual assessment, training and, in recital 46, the risks and safeguards specific to mediation, family group conferencing, and sentencing circles.
• CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS, arts. 1-2. Sets the objective of the directive and the principle of non-discriminatory treatment, with priority given to the best interests of the child. Defines victim, family members, child, and restorative justice, understood as a voluntary process in which the victim and the offender take part with the help of an impartial third party.
• CHAPTER 2 PROVISION OF INFORMATION AND SUPPORT, arts. 3-9. Regulates the right to understand and to be understood, information from first contact with an authority (including the restorative justice services available), acknowledgment of the complaint, and information about the case. It also covers free interpretation and translation and access to general and specialist support services, even without a formal complaint.
• CHAPTER 3 PARTICIPATION IN CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS, arts. 10-17. Recognizes the right to be heard, to request a review of a decision not to prosecute, to free legal aid, to reimbursement of expenses, to the return of property, and to a decision on compensation from the offender. Article 12 sets the safeguards in restorative justice services, and Article 17 addresses victims residing in another Member State.
• CHAPTER 4 PROTECTION OF VICTIMS AND RECOGNITION OF VICTIMS WITH SPECIFIC PROTECTION NEEDS, arts. 18-24. Provides for measures against secondary and repeat victimization, intimidation, and retaliation, avoidance of contact with the offender, and protection of privacy. Regulates the individual assessment of each victim and special measures during the investigation and trial, with specific rules for children.
• CHAPTER 5 OTHER PROVISIONS, arts. 25-26. Deals with general and specialist training of police, court staff, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and those who provide victim support or restorative justice services. It also promotes cooperation between States and awareness-raising actions.
• CHAPTER 6 FINAL PROVISIONS, arts. 27-32. Sets November 16, 2015 as the transposition deadline and the obligation to send data to the Commission from 2017 and every three years. Provides for the Commission's report, the replacement of the Framework Decision, entry into force, and the addressees.

Key ideas

• Crime is conceived at once as harm to society and as a violation of the individual rights of victims.
• Victim status does not depend on the offender being identified, prosecuted, or convicted, and it extends to family members of a person whose death was caused by the crime.
• Victims must receive clear and accessible information from first contact, including the existence of restorative justice services.
• Access to support is free, confidential, and does not depend on filing a formal complaint.
• Restorative justice can benefit the victim, but only with safeguards: that it be in the victim's interest, that consent be free, informed, and revocable, that the offender acknowledge the basic facts, and that agreements be voluntary.
• What is discussed in a non-public restorative process is confidential, unless the parties agree or an overriding public interest is provided for by national law.
• An early individual assessment makes it possible to detect the risk of secondary victimization and to define special protection measures, taking the victim's wishes into account.
• Training of those who come into contact with victims, including restorative justice facilitators, is an obligation of the States.

Practical uses

• What minimum conditions must be met before offering a victim a restorative process?
• What information must the victim receive before agreeing to take part, and about follow-up of the agreement?
• What factors should be assessed when referring a case to a restorative justice service, such as the seriousness of the offense or power imbalances?
• When can confidentiality of what was said in a restorative meeting be lifted?
• What training is expected of facilitators who work with victims?

Key terms

victim, victims' rights, restorative justice, free and informed consent, secondary victimization, retaliation, intimidation, victim support services, individual assessment, specific protection needs, confidentiality, case referral, training, best interests of the child, European Union