The victim is ... The rights of the victim. Article 42 of the Code of Criminal Procedure

A victim is a person who has become a victimcrime, as a result of which moral, physical, property harm was caused to him. They are also recognized by the organization in the event of damage to its reputation and material values by the unlawful actions of another entity. Let's consider further the basic rights of the victim.

General information

Due to the fact that at the legislative levelthe presumption of innocence is fixed, the act is declared to be criminal and the fact that it inflicts harm on a specific subject, can be solely by the court. For this, the case is examined on the merits and is proved by the fault of the attacker. From this it follows that the fact of causing damage to a specific subject before the relevant decision comes into force is considered an assumption. In this regard, the victim of the Criminal Code is regarded as a party to the process, which has certain legal capabilities and responsibilities. They are necessary for effective participation in the proceedings. However, the victim in court is recognized as such only to ensure the protection of his interests at the time of the proceedings.

Physical harm

What are the reasons for a citizenacted as a victim? The Russian Federation is considered a legal democratic state. Accordingly, the country has rules that ensure the protection of the interests of citizens, including those who have become victims of crimes. For the recognition of the subject, the victims need information about the moral, material or physical harm to a person or damage to material values or the business reputation of the organization. In accordance with Art. 1058 GK, in case of injury or other damage to the health of compensation, income (earnings) lost by a citizen that he definitely could or did receive is subject to payment. In addition, the additional costs incurred by the victim are reimbursed. This, in particular, costs for food, medical treatment, purchase of medical products, extraneous care, prosthetics, the acquisition of special technical equipment, retraining, if it is determined that a citizen needs them and can not receive them for free.

Property damage

The victim is a citizen or organization,who suffered material damage. Such damage relates to the property sphere of life and activity. It arises from the deprivation of the subject of certain material values, money, goods and so on, their damage, reduction, destruction. Property damage also includes the costs incurred by a citizen or organization to restore their interests, including incomes that were not received in connection with the commission of the encroachment.

Moral injury

It includes physical or moralsuffering that a person has as a result of a crime that encroaches on his intangible benefits that belong to him from birth. They include, in particular, health, life, dignity, honor, reputation. Moral damage can also arise from encroachment on property and exclusive rights. As mentioned above, the victim is not only a citizen, but also an organization. When infringing on an enterprise, damage to its business reputation may be caused. It is expressed in undermining the authority of the economic entity as a participant in business relations, discrediting. It is worth noting that the regime for protecting the reputation of a citizen acts by analogy with the norms provided for organizations.

Nuance

A legal fact, acting as a basis, whenthe presence of which the victim enters the criminal procedure relations is not causing him harm as such, but the adoption of a decision that appropriates the corresponding status to the citizen or organization. It is issued by a decree of the prosecutor, investigator / investigator. The corresponding decision is also made by the court. The initiator can be both the victim himself and the said subjects.

Legal guarantees

In Art. 52 of the Constitution it is determined that the rights of the victim are protected by law. The state provides victims with access to an objective, comprehensive investigation in authorized bodies. A victim is a person who defends his interests in the process. In this connection, it does not appear only as a source of evidence. First of all, the state seeks to restore and protect the interests of the victim in this way.

Capabilities

Legislation establishes a circle of subjects,participating in criminal proceedings, their legal status. Norms define legal opportunities for them. They have both the victim, the witness, the suspect, and other parties. As for the injured party, his legal capabilities are defined in art. 42 in part two. According to the norm, the victim has the right:

Know about the charge brought against the suspect, give evidence, provide evidence.
Participate in investigative activities carried out on his application or petition of a representative. To implement this right, permission of an authorized employee is required.
To make a challenge and petition.
To get acquainted with the procedural materials andmake comments on them. These include the protocols of investigative measures carried out with his participation, decisions on the appointment of examinations and their conclusions (if the procedure was carried out with respect to the victim or at the request sent to him).
Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, get acquainted with the case materials, make copies and write out the data in any amount.
Participate in proceedings in the first, second, supervisory instance.
Receive copies of resolutions on recognizing him as a victim, initiating a case or refusing to do so, stopping production, verdicts and decisions.
To speak in the debate.
To get acquainted with the information of the minutes of the meeting, to submit comments on it.
To challenge the inaction / actions of the court, the inquirer, the prosecutor, the investigator.
Know about the complaints, representations brought in the case, file objections to them.

Security measures

Participation of the victim may lead to a threatharming him or his relatives, which will significantly complicate the proceedings. Often, for this reason, many victims refuse to testify, evade the appearance of a conversation with the investigator. In this regard, the legislation provides for a set of measures aimed at protecting the life, health of the subjects and their relatives. Among them:

Preservation of personal information about the victim.
Recording and monitoring of negotiations.
Carrying out an identification with the exclusion of the possibility of visual observation of the victim by the suspect.
Holding closed hearings.

In addition, additional security measures are provided for by Federal Law No. 119. In accordance with this normative act, in particular, the following can be provided:

Protection of the home, property and the victim himself.
Issuance of personal protective equipment, communication devices and warning messages.
Resettlement to another place of residence.
Change of documents.
Change of appearance.
Change of place of study / work / service.

Interrogation

A victim is a citizen, not only havingpossibility, but also obliged to participate in the trial of the case. This is due to the fact that he, among other things, acts as a source of evidence. Therefore, he does not have the right to ignore the investigator's calls and not to testify. Otherwise, the victim will be subjected to the drive. Interrogation of victims is conducted according to the rules provided for witnesses. Subjects can not provide knowingly false information or refuse to disclose information known to them. For violation of these prescriptions, liability under Art. 307 and 308 of the Criminal Code. Before starting the procedure, the subject is explained his duties and legal capabilities. In particular, the victim has the right not to testify against himself and his relatives. The circle of the latter is determined by Article 5 (paragraph 4) of the Criminal Procedure Code. If a citizen agrees to provide information known to him, he must be warned that the information can later be used as evidence in the case, even if he refuses them.

Important point

The victim is a participant in the process who hasaccess to many materials of the proceedings. In this regard, he is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of information known to him. In the event of disclosure of information, 310 articles become responsible. The need to preserve the confidentiality of the data must be prevented by the investigator, prosecutor or investigator.

The role of the victim in the process

The victim is one of the key actorsproceedings. Its importance in the process is determined by participation in the proof. Strengthening the role of the victim in private-public and public indictments is also expressed in the ability to influence the decision on the form of the proceedings. This is conditioned by the requirement of the law to obtain the consent of the victim for consideration of the case in a special order.

Specific Status

It should be noted that the legal statusThe victim is in many respects similar to the witness. This provision is confirmed by a number of norms of the current CPC. For example, in Art. 246 (part 7) provides for the prosecutor's refusal from the charge at the hearing. At the same time, it is not specified whether it is mandatory for the victim to ascertain his opinion about this. Legislation does not give the subject the opportunity to participate in the process of formulating the accusation, express objections to its mitigation. According to experts, dispositive powers that relate to the legal fate of the case must be provided to the victim at all stages, and not only in the process of direct trial.

The issue of compensation for harm

It is of fundamental importance in the processproceedings. The norms established the possibility of claiming compensation for harm inflicted by the encroachment, as well as costs associated with participation in the investigation and judicial proceedings, including expenses for the representative. Compensation for damage in this case should be understood as financial assistance to the affected entity by the state, if it is not possible to obtain it from the violator. To do this, special funds are formed. However, it should be recognized that at present this mechanism does not work. In the pre-existing legislation, a provision was provided for the damage caused by the crime to the owner of the property to be reimbursed at the expense of state funds with subsequent recovery from the perpetrators. FZ of 24.06.1994 suspended its operation. In the existing Civil Code this norm is absent. However, the Criminal Procedure Code provides for the possibility of presenting a civil claim in the criminal proceedings to the victim. It is established by Article 44.