Victim Participation in Proceedings and Sentencing in Europe
| Author | Matti Joutsen |
| DOI | 10.1177/026975809400300204 |
| Date | 01 January 1994 |
| Published date | 01 January 1994 |
International
Review
of
Victimology,
1994,
Vol.
3
pp.
57-67
0269-7580/94$10
©
1994
A B
Academic
Publishers-Printed
in
Great
Britain
VICTIM
PARTICIPATION
IN
PROCEEDINGS
AND
SENTENCING
IN
EUROPE
Matti
Joutsen
Director,
European
United
Nations
Institute
for
Crime
Prevention
and
Control,
Helsinki,
Fin-
land
ABSTRACT
The
article
reviews
the
different
ways
in
which
victims
can
influence
the
course
and
outcome
of
criminal
proceedings
in different
European
criminal
justice
systems.
The
range
is
from
some
jurisdictions
(such
as
Greece,
the
Netherlands
and
Portugal)
where
the
victim
can
appear
only
in
the
capacity
as
witness,
to
others
(such
as
Finland)
where
there
is
a general right
to
prosecute.
Even
in
the
systems
providing
victims
with
the
greatest opportunity
for
participation,
the
victim
in
practice
generally
leaves
prosecution
to
the
public
prosecutor.
The
article concludes
by
arguing
that
no
one
system
is
ideal
from
the
point
of
view
of
the
victim.
APOLOGIA
When this special issue
of
the International Review
of
Victimology was being
planned, I was asked to contribute a European paper on the victim's role in
sentencing. At first, I found that an odd request. The paper could consist
of
one
sentence, 'In every European country, the court passes the sentence, not the
victim'.
However, the Editors noted that this would be a European companion piece to
articles on the victim impact statement. That changed matters. The VIS is intended
to provide the victim with an opportunity to provide an input in what would
otherwise be a dialogue between the prosecutor and the defence. Because the VIS
is normally submitted to the court at the stage when the sentence is being
considered, the editors consider this to allow the victim a role in sentencing. As
in so many other things in life, the Europeans do it differently. In Europe, victims
have a number
of
different channels for providing such an input at an earlier stage
of
the trial. Moreover, criminal proceedings in Europe generally do not consist
of
a separate sentencing hearing where the victim could have a distinct role. For
these reasons, I requested (and received) permission to take a different tack. The
article deals more broadly with ways in which European victims can participate
in criminal proceedings, and in this way have a role in the outcome.
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