Victims Rights, Human Rights and Criminal Justice

Reconceiving the Role of Third Parties
Erscheinungsjahr 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84113-603-5
Verlag: Bloomsbury 3PL

Buch, Englisch, 340 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 512 g

In recent times, the idea of 'victims' rights' has come to feature prominently in political, criminological and legal discourse, as well as being subject to regular media comment. The concept nevertheless remains inherently elusive, and there is still considerable ambiguity as to the origin and substance of such rights. This monograph deconstructs the nature and scope of the rights of victims of crime against the backdrop of an emerging international consensus on how victims ought to be treated and the role they ought to play. The essence of such rights is ascertained not only by surveying the plethora of international standards which deal specifically with crime victims, but also by considering the potential cross-applicability of standards relating to victims of abuse of power, with whom they have much in common. In this book Jonathan Doak considers the parameters of a number of key rights which international standards suggest victims ought to be entitled to. He then proceeds to ask whether victims are able to rely upon such rights within a domestic criminal justice system characterised by structures, processes and values which are inherently exclusionary, adversarial and punitive in nature.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Doak, Jonathan

Doak

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Ausländisches Recht Common Law (UK, USA, Australien u.a.)
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Menschenrechte, Bürgerrechte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

The Evolution of Victims' Rights
I. The Victim through History

Shifting Ideologies: The Political State

II. The Rebirth of the Victim

Victims in Contemporary Criminal Justice Policy: The Realisation of Rights?

III. The Normative Basis for Victims' Rights

Defining 'Victims'

Defining 'Rights'

The International Perspective

IV. Victims' Rights and the Adversarial Process

2 The Right to Protection

I. Protection from Victimisation

Positive Obligations: The Duty to Protect Life

Ramifications for Domestic Practice

II. Secondary Victimisation

The Nature and Extent of the Problem

International Standards

Domestic Practice

Discussion

IV. Conclusions

3 The Right to Participation

I. Prosecution and Pre-Trial Processes

Influencing Prosecutorial Decisions

Private Prosecutions

Preparing for Trial

II. The Trial Process

Participation within the Adversarial Context

III. Sentencing

The International Perspective

Domestic Practice

IV. Conclusions

4 The Right to Justice

I. International Standards

International Human Rights Law

Progressing the Concept

II. The Right to a Remedy in the Domestic Legal Order

Victims of Non-State Crime

III. A Right to Truth?

International Developments

Truth in the Adversarial System

The Trial

The Verdict

Summary

IV. Conclusions

5 The Right To Reparation

I. Reparation as an International Standard

The Origins of Reparation in International Law

Reparation in Human Rights Law

Lessons from International Criminal Law

Discussion

II. Realising Reparation in the Criminal Justice System

State Compensation

Reparation from the Offender

III. Rethinking Reparation

IV. Conclusions

6 A Place For Victims' Rights?

I. Victims' Rights and Adversarial Justice

The Nature of Victims' Rights

The Inherent Limits of Adversarial Justice

Summary

II. Alternative Approaches

Restorative Justice

The Inquisitorial Approach

III. Looking to the Future

Reforming the Adversarial Paradigm

Über Autor(innen)

Dr Jonathan Doak is a Reader in Law at Nottingham Law School, Nottingham Trent University