Press Release: Putting victims first: New rules on victims’ rights to become law

A new European law to improve rights for an estimated 75 million crime victims across the European Union each year will be published in the Official Journal – the EU's statute book – tomorrow. The directive on victims' rights was adopted on 4 October 2012 by the Council of Ministers, after the European Parliament endorsed it with an overwhelming majority on 12 September. The directive sets out minimum rights for victims, wherever they are in the EU. Member States now have three years to implement the provisions into their national laws.