a ; "Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power"@en; "29 November 1985"; "Administration of justice, detention & law enforcement"; ; ; "Re-sourced from authoritative OHCHR text; deontic + amendment layers pending.". a ; ; "Paragraph 2"@en; ; "A. Victims of crime Access to justice and fair treatment Restitution Compensation Assistance B. Victims of abuse of power A. Victims of crime"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 3"@en; ; "1. \"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."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 4"@en; ; "2. 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."@en. a ; ; ; "Paragraph 5"@en; ; "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."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 6"@en; ; "Access to justice and fair treatment"@en. a ; ; ; "Paragraph 7"@en; ; "4. 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."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 8"@en; ; "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."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 9"@en; ; "6. The responsiveness of judicial and administrative processes to the needs of victims should be facilitated by:"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 10"@en; ; "(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 have requested such information;"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 11"@en; ; "(b) Allowing the views and concerns of victims to be presented and considered at appropriate stages of the proceedings where their personal interests are affected, without prejudice to the accused and consistent with the relevant national criminal justice system;"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 12"@en; ; "(c) Providing proper assistance to victims throughout the legal process;"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 13"@en; ; "(d) Taking measures to minimize inconvenience to victims, protect their privacy, when necessary, and ensure their safety, as well as that of their families and witnesses on their behalf, from intimidation and retaliation;"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 14"@en; ; "(e) Avoiding unnecessary delay in the disposition of cases and the execution of orders or decrees granting awards to victims."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 15"@en; ; "7. Informal mechanisms for the resolution of disputes, including mediation, arbitration and customary justice or indigenous practices, should be utilized where appropriate to facilitate conciliation and redress for victims."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 16"@en; ; "8. Offenders or third parties responsible for their behaviour should, where appropriate, make fair restitution to victims, their families or 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."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 17"@en; ; "9. Governments should review their practices, regulations and laws to consider restitution as an available sentencing option in criminal cases, in addition to other criminal sanctions."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 18"@en; ; "10. In cases of substantial harm to the environment, restitution, if ordered, should include, as far as possible, restoration of the environment, reconstruction of the infrastructure, replacement of community facilities and reimbursement of the expenses of relocation, whenever such harm results in the dislocation of a community."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 19"@en; ; "11. Where public officials or other agents acting in an official or quasi-official capacity have violated national criminal laws, the victims should receive restitution from the State whose officials or agents were responsible for the harm inflicted. In cases where the Government under whose authority the victimizing act or omission occurred is no longer in existence, the State or Government successor in title should provide restitution to the victims."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 20"@en; ; "12. When compensation is not fully available from the offender or other sources, States should endeavour to provide financial compensation to:"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 21"@en; ; "(a) Victims who have sustained significant bodily injury or impairment of physical or mental health as a result of serious crimes;"@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 22"@en; ; "(b) The family, in particular dependants of persons who have died or become physically or mentally incapacitated as a result of such victimization."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 23"@en; ; "13. The establishment, strengthening and expansion of national funds 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."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 24"@en; ; "14. Victims should receive the necessary material, medical, psychological and social assistance through governmental, voluntary, community-based and indigenous means."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 25"@en; ; "15. Victims should be informed of the availability of health and social services and other relevant assistance and be readily afforded access to them."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 26"@en; ; "16. Police, justice, health, social service and other personnel concerned should receive training to sensitize them to the needs of victims, and guidelines to ensure proper and prompt aid."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 27"@en; ; "17. In providing services and assistance to victims, attention should be given to those who have special needs because of the nature of the harm inflicted or because of factors such as those mentioned in paragraph 3 above."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 28"@en; ; "18. \"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 do not yet constitute violations of national criminal laws but of internationally recognized norms relating to human rights."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 29"@en; ; "19. 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."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 30"@en; ; "20. States should consider negotiating multilateral international treaties relating to victims, as defined in paragraph 18."@en. a ; ; "Paragraph 31"@en; ; "21. 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."@en.