Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 98 Crime prevention and criminal justice, published in 1985.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 5	Justice	77

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 5	Justice	77	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

12 subjects

Abuse of Power Codes of Conduct Crime Prevention Crime Victims Declarations (Text)Detained Persons Information Dissemination Information Exchange Periodic Reports Principles Restitution Standards

What’s in this document?

32 operative paragraphs

This extracted fulltext may contain errors or omissions. Please check the source document.

Recalling that the Sixth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders recommended that the United Nations should continue its present work on the development of guidelines and standards regarding abuse of economic and political power,s6

Cognizant that millions of people throughout the world suffer harm as a result of crime and the abuse of power and that the rights of these victims have not been adequately recognized,

Recognizing that the victims of crime and the victims of abuse of power, and also frequently their families, witnesses and others who aid them, are unjustly subjected to loss, damage or injury and that they may, in addition, suffer hardship when assisting in the prosecution of offenders,

Affirms the necessity of adopting national and international measures in order to secure the universal and effective recognition of, and respect for, the rights of victims of crime and of abuse of power;

Stresses the need to promote progress by all States in their efforts to that end, without prejudice to the rights of suspects or offenders;

Adopts the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, annexed to the present resolution, which is designed to assist Governments and the international community in their efforts to secure justice and assistance for victims of crime and victims of abuse of power;

Calls upon Member States to take the necessary steps to give effect to the provisions contained in the Declaration and, in order to curtail victimization as referred to hereinafter, endeavour:

To implement social, health, including mental health, educational, economic and specific crime prevention policies to reduce victimization and encourage assistance to victims in distress:

To promote community efforts and public participation in crime prevention;

To review periodically their existing legislation and practices in order to ensure responsiveness to changing circumstances, and to enact and enforce legislation proscribing ·1cts that violate internationally recognized norms relating to human rights, corporate conduct and other abuses of power;

To establish and strengthen the means of detecting, prosecuting and sentencing those guilty of crimes;

To promote disclosure of relevant information to expose official and corporate conduct to public scrutiny, and other ways of increasing responsiveness to public concerns;

(I) To promote the observance of codes of conduct and ethical norms, in particular international standards, by public servants, including law enforcement, correctional, medical, social service and military personnel, as well as the staff of economic enterprises;

To prohibit practices and procedures conducive to abuse, such as secret places of detention and incommunicado detention;

To co-operate with other States, through mutual judicial and administrative assistance, in such matters as the detection and pursuit of offenders, their extradition and the seizure of their assets, to be used for restitution to the victims;

Recommends that, at the international and regional levels, all appropriate measures should he taken:

To promote training activities designed to foster adherence to United Nations standards and norms and to curtail possible abuses;

To sponsor collaborative action-research on ways in which victimization can be reduced and victims aided, and to promote information exchanges on the most effective means of so doing;

To render direct aid to requesting Governments designed to help them curtail victimization and alleviate the plight of victims;

To develop ways and means of providing recourse for victims where national channels may be insufficient;

Requests the Secretary-General to invite Member States to report periodically to the General Assembly on the implementation of the Declaration, as well as on measures taken by them to this effect;

Also requests the Secretary-General to make use of the opportunities, which all relevant bodies and organizations within the United Nations system offer, to assist Member States, whenever necessary, in improving ways and means of protecting victims both at the national level and through international co-operation;

Further requests the Secretary-General to promote the objectives of the Declaration, in particular by ensuring its widest possible dissemination;

Urges the specialized agencies and other entities and bodies of the United Nations system, other relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and the public to co-operate in the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration.

Declaration of Basic Principles of Jnsdce for Victims of Crime and Abnse of Power JI ictim.r of crime I. "'Victims" means persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional suffering, economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or omissions that are in violation of criminal laws operative within Member States, including those laws proscribing criminal abuse of power.

A person may be considered a victim, under this Declaration, regardless of whether the perpetrator is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted and regardless of the familial relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. The term "victim" also includes, where appropriate, the immediate family or dependants of the direct victim and persons who have suffered harm in intervening to assist victims in distress or to prevent victimization.

3. The provisions contained herein shall be applicable to all, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, age, language, religion, nationality, political or other opinion, cultural beliefs or practices, property, birth or family status, ethnic or social origin, and disability.

Access to justice and fair treatment Victims should be treated with compassion and respect for their dignity. They are entitled to access to the mechanisms of justice and to prompt redress, as provided for by national legislation, for the harm that they have suffered.

5. Judicial and administrative mechanisms should be established and strengthened where necessary to enable victims to obtain redress through formal or informal procedures that are expeditious, fair, inexpensive and accessible. Victims should be informed of their rights in seeking redress through such mechanisms.

The responsiveness of judicial and administrative processes to the needs of victims should be facilitated by:

(a) Informing victims of their role and the scope, timing and progress of the proceedings and of the disposition of their cases, especially where serious crimes are involved and where they haw requested surh informa tion;

(b) Allowing the views and concerns of v1ct1ms to he pr,·sented and considered at appropriate stages of the proceedings where thrlT personal interests are affected, without prejudice to the accused and cons,stenl with the relevant national criminal justice system;

(d) Taking measures to minimize inconvenience to victims. protef1 their privacy, when necessary, and ensure their safety, as well as that nt their families and witnesses on their behalf, from intimidation and retaha tion;

(e) A voiding unnecessary delay in the disposition of cases and the n •· cution of orders or decrees granting awards to victims.

Informal mechanisms for the resolution of disputes, including mediation, arbitration and customary justice or indigenous practices, should ht· utilized where appropriate to facilitate conciliation and redress for v1c1,m,

Restitution

Offenders or third parties responsible for their behaviour should where appropriate, make fair restitution to victims, their familie< '" dependants. Such restitution should include the return of property or payment for the harm or loss suffered, reimbursement of expenses incurred as a result of the victimization, the provision of services and the restoration of rights.

Governments should review their practices, regulations and laws tu consider restitution as an available sentencing option in criminal cases. ,,, addition to other criminal sanctions.

In cases of substantial harm to the environment, restitution. •I ordered, should include, as far as possible, restoration of the environmcn,. reconstruction of the infrastructure, replacement of community faciliti,·, and reimbursement of the expenses of relocation, whenever such han•, results in the dislocation of a community.

Where public officials or other agents acting in an official or qua,, official capacity have violated national criminal laws, the victims should receive restitution from the State whose officials or agents were responsibk for the harm inl\icted. In cases where the Government under whose authority the victimizing act or omission occurred is no longer in ex,stenrr the State or Government successor in title should provide restitution to t h,· victims.

Compensation

When compensation is not fully available from the offender or other sources, States should endeavour to provide financial compensat,.•n to:

Victims who have sustained significant bodily inJury or 1mpairmrn1 of physical or mental health as a result of serious crimes;

The family, in particular dependants of persons who have died or become physically or mentally incapacitated as a result of such vicumira tion.

The establishment, strengthening and expansion of national fur,- 1• for compensation to victims should be encouraged. Where appropriate. other funds may also be established for this purpose, including in those cases where the State of which the victim is a national is not in a position to compensate the victim for the harm.

Assistance 14.

Victims should receive the necessary material, medical. psycholot1,1 cal and social assistance through governmental, voluntary. communitvbased and indigenous means.

Victims should be informed of the availability of health and son al services and other relevant assistance and be readily afforded access to them.

Police, justice, health, social service and other personnel concerned should receive training to sensitize them to the needs of victims. and guide lines to ensure proper and prompt aid.

In providing services and assistance to victims, attention should be given to those who have special needs because of the nature of the harm inl\icted or because of factors such as those mentioned in paragraph -~ above.

B.

l'ktillU of oln,,e of powr

"'Victims" means persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered harm, including physical or mental injury, emotional sufferinR economic loss or substantial impairment of their fundamental nl(hts. through acts or omissions that do not yet constitute violations of natinnal criminal laws but of internationally recognized norms relating to hurn.,n rights.

VI.

States should consider incorporating into the national law norms proscribing abuses of power and providing remedies to victims of such abuses. In particular, such remedies should include restitution and/or compensation, and necessary material, medical, psychological and social assistance and support.

States should consider negotiating multilateral international treaties relating to victims, as defined in paragraph 18.

States should periodically review existing legislation and practices to ensure their responsiveness to changing circumstances, should enact and enforce, if necessary, legislation proscribing acts that constitute serious abuses of political or economic power, as well as promoting policies and mechanisms for the prevention of such acts, and should develop and make readily available appropriate rights and remedies for victims of such acts.

Part six.

Rueorcli, p/a1111i11g, policy form11/atio11 tuUI ~,aJ11atio11

ANNEX A. 2.

16. 4.

79 See Report oft he World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Natwns Decade for Women: Equality, Development and

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

B.

VI.

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?