- I was a victim of crime: consequences and reactions
- The rights of victims of crime
- Right to information
- Right to receive acknowledgement of the complaint
- Right to translation
- Right to victim support services
- Right to be heard
- Rights in the event of a decision not to charge the defendant
- Right to mediation
- Right to legal information and protection
- Right to reimbursement of expenses
- Right to the return of property
- Right to compensation
- Right to protection
- Right to privacy
- Rights of victims resident in another EU member state
- Criminal proceedings
- Who’s who in criminal proceedings
- Victim (Injured Party)
- Judge
- Prosecutor
- Pre-trial investingation officer
- Court secretary
- Court volunteer
- Victim’s lawyer
- Legal representative of an injured party (victim)
- Accompanying person of an injured party (victim)
- Victim support worker
- Suspect and defendant
- Defense lawyer
- Witness
- Experts and specialists
- Interpreter
- Psychologist
- Representative of state institution on protection of children rights
- Civil claimant and civil defendant
Right to victim support services
Support of someone who knows how to deal with the situation victims face is very important.
There are certain cases when you can apply for complex support, encompassing emotional, legal, technical, and other forms of assistance to victims of crime. If you are a victim of domestic violence, you should contact one of the specialized complex support centers, their list is provided here. If you are a victim of human trafficking, you should contact one of the NGOs providing support to victims of this crime, their list is provided here. In cases when a child suffers a crime, you may contact the State Child Rights Protection and Adoption Service, the list of its regional divisions is provided here. In cases of any other crime suffered you may contact a victim support service, their list is provided here. Institutions of the first contact (police, public prosecution service, courts, institutions of health care and education, etc.) are obliged by law to immediately refer your case to a victim support service if you wish that. In this case you would be immediately contacted by a victim support service itself. You should also keep in mind that every victim of crime has a right to receive victim support services for free, irrespectively of whether the crime suffered was reported to police or not.
Victim support service shall assess your individual needs and draft a plan of implementation of victim support measures that enumerates what forms of victim support and when shall be applied. Victim support services provide emotional and psychological support, assist victims to contact other institutions (including police and other law enforcement agencies), accompany victims of crime to other institutions (including police, court hearings and beyond), assist victims in other problematic issues related to crime suffered, e.g. transportation to a health care institution or to a court, repairing entrance to your dwelling destroyed by a culprit, assistance in understanding formal procedures to apply for social insurance benefits in cases when you are entitled to receive them, and similar issues.