Memo

To: PILPG
From: Elira Tahiri
Date: 25/01/2016
Subject: The rights of crime victims under Kosovo law
Introduction:
I was assigned to write a legal memorandum about the rights of crime victims under
Kosovo jurisdiction. During this assignment I will answer the questions on whats the
status of crime victims, their rights, how they are perceived as parties to the
proceeding, the role of the victims advocate, the right to what compensation means
etc. Also, I am going to do a comparison between Kosovo, Slovenia and Montenegro
on the differences and similarities of the rights of crime victims, and how they are
regulated by law.
Issues Presented: In Kosovo the crime victims rights are an actual issue. For
improving the status of the victims there is a significant number of local and
international nongovernmental organizations, associations and also governmental
institutions who work to assist the victims.
In the Ministry of Justice there is a division for protecting and helping the victims.
Their mandate is to institutionalize the rights of the crime victims and to offer them
counseling and support for approach to the legal system.
According to Article 62 of the Criminal Procedure Code the rights of the injured
party are:
1.The injured party of a crime shall be treated with respect by the police, state
prosecutors, judges or other body conducting the criminal proceedings.
2. If an injured party of a crime can be identified, the police and state prosecutor
or other body conducting the criminal proceedings shall contact the injured party
in a reasonable manner and inform him or her that he or she is an injured party.
3.The injured party has the status of a party to the criminal proceeding.
4.The injured party has the right to a reasonable, court-ordered restitution from a
defendant or defendants who have admitted to or been adjudged to be guilty for
the financial, physical and emotional harm caused by the commission of a
criminal offence for which the defendant or defendants have been adjudged
guilty.
5. If a court cannot order restitution from the defendants or defendants due to
their inability to pay, absence from the jurisdiction of the court, or death, the
injured party has the right for the court to refer the order of restitution to the
coordinator of the victim compensation fund.

According to CPC article 63 paragraph 3. The injured party has the status of a party
to the criminal proceeding.
According to National Center for Victims of Crime the role of victims advocate vary
depending the job description and where they work , the role of an advocate may
include providing information on victimization, victims legal rights and protections,
providing information on the criminal procedure, providing emotional support to
victims, helping victims with safety planning, victim compensation applications,
intervening with creditors, landlords and employers on behalf of victims, notifying
victims of inmates release or escape.
Victims of violent crime may suffer financial stress as devastating as their
physical injuries and emotional trauma. Recovering from violence or abuse is
difficult enough without having to worry about how to pay for the costs of medical
care and counseling, or about how to replace lost income due to disability or death.
The good news is that every state has a crime victim compensation program that
can provide substantial financial assistance to crime victims and their families. And
while no amount of money can erase the trauma and grief victims suffer, this aid
can be crucial in the aftermath of crime *

Analysis: On European Commission 2015 report on Kosovo, it is said that on the

procedural rights, the suspected, accused persons and victims of crime in Kosovo
enjoy solid protection under the legislation (the Criminal Procedure Code, Law on
Police, Law on the Kosovo Police Inspectorate, Law on Crime Victim Compensation
as well as the Law on Free Legal Aid). They have the right to interpretation and
translation, the right to get information about rights, the right to legal advice before
and at trial and to legal aid, and the right for the detained person to communicate
with family members, employers and consular authorities. There is a strong political
will for fair implementation of these rules but more training is needed to secure
Kosovo citizen's procedural rights in practice*
The law on crime victims compensation in Kosovo there is material and formal
criteria which the people that claim to be damaged from crime should fulfill. Formal
conditions are:
the victim is a citizen or permanent resident of the Republic of Kosovo, is a citizen of
any country with which the Republic of Kosovo has reciprocity; or 1.3. is a citizen of
a Member State of the European Union
Material conditions to be eligible for the right to compensation in national and
national cross border situations, are met if the crime: is punishable with minimum
one year of imprisonment. was committed within the territory of the Republic of
Kosovo, was detected and reported to the competent authority and dealt with as a
criminal offence, was not committed negligently, resulted in death of the victim,
serious bodily injury, serious impairment of health or serious disturbance to mental
health of the victim; the victim incurred damage recognized by this law as a

consequence of the crime, the applicant is unable to obtain compensation through

health insurance or other resources, If the crime invoked under this Law results in
victims death, the rights hereunder may be enforced by the victims dependants.
Sllovenia, regulates the issue of crime victims compensation. Financing a
compensation fund in this state is regulated in a way that the funds partially come
from selling non legal confiscated assets. This fund is managed by office of head
prosecutor of Sllovenia.
While Montenegro, from a draft law recently drafted for regulating the issue of
compensation has forseen to fund the fond from the budget of Ministry of justice in
Montenegro, which is the same as Kosovo.
On 2015, Republic of Kosovo approved the concept-document for crime victims
compensation. And recently on June 2015 the law on victims compensation was
approved.

Conclusion:

References: European commission Kosovo 2015 report

(http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2015/20151110_report_kosov
o.pdf)
National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Board ,Crime victim compensation
(http://www.nacvcb.org/index.asp?bid=14)