NCJ Number
159048
Date Published
1995
Length
23 pages
Annotation
The White Ring Public Benefit Association in Budapest, Hungary, concerned with victim assistance, support, and compensation, offers specific recommendations to improve the legal position of crime victims.
Abstract
The association focuses on the legal position of victims at two levels. The first level includes legal modifications and suggestions, while the second level involves concepts and suggestions to be incorporated in Hungary's Criminal Code and Procedural Statute. In Hungary, the view has become increasingly common that crime victims and perhaps their relatives have a right to government compensation in every case where the offender cannot rectify the damage or injury caused and there is no other form of compensation available. Improving and modernizing the legal position of victims means that victims will enjoy the same level of legal protection as offenders. Criminal law modifications to protect victim interests are identified, as well as procedural law proposals. The need for adequate consideration of victim rights in court proceedings is emphasized, and ideas and recommendations on judicial reform are offered. The White Ring Public Benefit Association proposes that punishment schemes focus on reparation, that mediation be considered to reach agreement between victim and offender, and that both criminal code and restorative justice concepts be used to protect and compensate crime victims.