From the Overlooked to the Empowered Procedural Subject? A Rebirth of the Victim in the Criminal Procedure

With historical development, the criminal law outgrew the relationship be- tween the victim and the perpetrator. Criminal offences have become viola- tions of fundamental social values and the response to them became reserved for the state. The victim, which once made its own decision about the punitive response, thus remained particularly the source of information for procedural authorities. The poor position of victims of crime was pointed out by move- ments for the rights of victims of crime, which encouraged reforms of criminal procedures. In Europe, the Council of Europe and the European Union stood up for the strengthening of the position of victims of crime. The author exam- ines rights, which allow the victim to (more actively) participate in the crimi- nal procedure. Such inclusion of the victim into the criminal procedure and consequently strengthening of its position is generally followed by a discussion about the impact of reforms on the fundamental principles of the criminal procedure and the traditional procedural relationships. In the Slovenian regu- lation it has recently transformed into an argumentation of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia, which decided that the victim was entitled to the right to appeal in order to protect its procedural rights. An additional step towards the empowerment of the victim was made by the Slovenian leg- islator, when it broadened the victim’s right to appeal against the judgement.

Keywords: criminal procedural law, victim, participation in a criminal proceeding, the victims’ rights directive, ZKP-N.