Victim rights

The rights of victims of crime are determined and defined by the Criminal Procedure Act. The victim may report the crime to the police and/or the state attorney’s office. When reporting a crime, there is a duty of the institutions (police, state attorney’s office) to inform the victim about his/her rights so that he/she can exercise them during the proceedings.

The victim has the following rights:

the right to access victim support services
the right to effective psychological and other types of professional help and support from bodies, organizations or institutions that assist victims of a crime
the right to protection from intimidation and retaliation
the right to the protection of her dignity during witness testimony
the right to be accompanied by a person of trust during the proceedings in which she is participating
the right that medical examinations are kept to a minimum and are carried out only when strictly necessary for the criminal proceedings
the right to participate in the criminal proceeding as the injured party, the right to file a motion for prosecution and a private lawsuit in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Code, the right to be informed of the dismissal of the criminal complaint and the withdrawal of the state attorney from the criminal prosecution, and the right to undertake that prosecution instead of the state attorney
the right to a hearing without unjustified delay after the filing of a criminal complaint and that further hearings are conducted only to the extent to which they are necessary for the criminal proceeding
the right to be informed, at her request and without undue delay, of the release of the defendant from custody or investigative imprisonment, the escape of the defendant, the release of the convicted person from prison, and measures that have been undertaken for her protection
the right to be informed, at her request, of every decision by which the criminal proceeding is legally terminated
other rights prescribed by law.

The victim of the criminal offence against sexual freedom and the criminal offence of human trafficking, in addition to the rights that all victims have, also has the following rights:

to talk to a counsel/advisor (financed from the state budget), before the interrogation/hearing
to have a legal representative financed from the state budget
that he/she is interviewed by a person of the same sex by the police and in the state attorney’s office, and that if there is another interview, it is conducted by that same person
to refuse to answer questions that have no connection to the criminal offence and that are related to the personal life of the victim
to demand to be interviewed with audio-visual equipment
to the confidentiality of personal data
to demand that the public be excluded from the hearing.

The child victim of a criminal offence, in addition to the rights that all victims have, also has the following rights:

The victim of the criminal offence of violence intentionally committed has the right to financial compensation from the state budget in accordance with a special law.

The victim of a criminal offence for which the prescribed sentence is more than five years, who suffers serious consequences from that offence, has the right to professional assistance from a counsellor/advisor financed from the state budget with the submission of a claim for indemnification.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT VICTIMS RIGHTS

For more information on victims rights you can contact National Call Center for Victims of Crime 116 006.