Victims of crime to get compensation, October 2002

On 17 October 2002 the European Commission confirmed that it has adopted a draft Directive on compensation for victims of crime. Under the proposal, people in the EU would be able to claim compensation for injuries and losses sustained as a result of crime or terrorism. The European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, António Vitorino, said: 'Support and protection of victims of crime and terrorism is a key objective in the establishment of the European Union as an area of freedom, security and justice. The directive proposed by the Commission today is a vital step towards realising that objective'.

The objective of the 'Proposal for a Council Directive on compensation to crime victims' (COM (2002) 562) is 'to ensure that all EU citizens and all legal residents in the EU can receive adequate compensation for the losses they have suffered in case they fall victim to a crime within the EU. The proposal will contribute to reaching the objective of the Union and of the Community to establish an area of freedom, security and justice for all, as well as the objective of ensuring free movement of persons within the EU. The proposal also forms part of the response of the EU to the events of 11 September 2001, by ensuring that victims of terrorism are ensured of adequate compensation regardless of where within the EU such acts may take place.

More specifically, the proposal seeks to achieve two main aims:

• to establish a minimum standard for compensation of victims of crime and to ensure that all EU Member States put in place legislation to enable victims of crime to seek 'adequate compensation'.

• to ensure that victims' ability to claim compensation does not depend on which Member State the crime is committed in. The draft Directive would address these cross-border situations by creating 'a system of cooperation between authorities of the Member States, allowing in practice the victim to always be able to submit an application to an authority in the Member State of residence'.

For the purposes of the Directive, a 'victim' is defined as 'a natural person who has suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering or economic loss, directly caused by acts or omissions that are in violation of the criminal law of a Member State'.

Member States would have a number of options under the Directive, including being able to:

• exclude victims with only minor injuries from receiving compensation

• reducing or refusing compensation 'on grounds of the behaviour of the applicant in direct relation to the event that caused the injury or death'

• requiring victims to report the crime to the relevant authorities in the Member State where the crime was committed, in order to be eligible for compensation

Section 2 of the draft Directive concerns 'Access to compensation in cross-border situations'. It will require Member States to 'establish or designate' one or more 'assisting authorities' to be responsible for providing applicants with information and helping them complete an application for compensation.

The Commission's proposal is a response to a request from the 1999 Tampere European Council which called for minimum standards to be established in the EU for victims of crime. Following that request, the Commission published a Green Paper in September 2001. In its Opinion on the Green Paper (adopted on 27 February 2002) the Economic and Social Committee's Section for Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship welcomed the initiative, pointing out that 'In almost all countries for some twenty years now, groupings of citizens' associations - today under the umbrella of a European forum - act as a mouthpiece and high-profile advocate for those who suffer the psychological, physical and material consequences of crime.'

The European Parliament voted in favour of the Green Paper on 24 September 2002. In its Report, Parliament stated that it 'Regrets the great differences that exist between the EU Member States' national schemes to compensate crime victims, which are at the root of unjustifiable differences in the compensation to which European citizens are entitled, since this varies exclusively on the basis of the area in the European Union in which the individual was the victim of the crime' and went on to say that 'many victims suffer injury twice, first as the victims of a crime and then as victims of an excessively bureaucratic system, which requires greater simplification in order to prevent situations where protection is unavailable or inadequate'.

Links:

European Commission:
	17.10.02: The Commission proposes compensation to all crime victims in the EU [IP/02/1506]
	Proposal for a Council Directive on compensation to crime victims COM(2002) 562
	Green Paper: Compensation to crime victims COM(2001) 536
	Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Green Paper on compensation to crime victims'
European Parliament:
	Report on the Commission Green Paper on compensation to crime victims A5-0309/2002

Eric Davies
KnowEurope Researcher
Compiled: Friday, 18 October 2002

On 17 October 2002 the European Commission confirmed that it has adopted a draft Directive on compensation for victims of crime. Under the proposal, people in the EU would be able to claim compensation for injuries and losses sustained as a result of crime or terrorism.