On Thursday, 11 March 2021, Ivana Lunka, counselor working in the National Call Center for Victims of Crime, held an online lecture as part of a series of lectures organized by the team of the National Call Center’s team. The subject of the lecture was The Act on Financial Compensation for Victims of Crime. The lecture was held on Zoom and Facebook streaming platforms. It was attended by 64 participants.
The lecturer spoke about financial compensation for victims of crime, about legislation and the differences between financial compensation and other forms of compensation for victims who suffered grievous bodily harm. Speaking about the ways of informing victims about their right to financial compensation, she pointed out that victims are often poorly informed about their rights, including the right to financial compensation.
The lecturer clarified in which crimes victims qualify for financial compensation and on which basis they can make a claim. Four basis were highlighted for which victims can claim financial compensation: compensation of healthcare costs, compensation for loss of earnings, compensation for maintenance lost, and compensation for funeral costs. During the lecture, the lecturer explained how to fill in the forms which are needed for financial compensation, about relevant documentation. Lecturers explained the ways in which the National Call Centre for Victims of Crime helps victims and what type of information it provides. She mentioned time-limits in which victims can submit their claim for financial compensation and it was explained who makes the ruling regarding the claim and in which time frame, as well as all possible outcomes of a claim for financial compensation.
The lecturer gave several examples from the National Call Centre’s helpline, using them to explain the differences among various basis for financial compensation claims in each of the specified cases.
In the second part of the lecture, the lecturer presented statistic data regarding the number of received claims for financial compensation, starting from the date of implementation of the Act on Financial Compensation in 2013 and ending with 2020, as well as the number of claims which were approved by the Committee for Compensation to Victims of Crime.
