Seminar Victims within criminal trials

Description

Victims within Criminal Trials – Critical Domestic and International Approaches


In the recent decades, criminal justice systems around the world have witnessed an emergence of a victim-oriented criminal justice. Victim’s position within a criminal trial has changed from merely a passive object of a criminal inquiry to an active participant in the proceedings. These developments have changed the character and the dynamics of criminal trials and led to challenges in day-to-day practices on how to satisfy victims’ needs while not compromising the rights of the defendants.

New victim rights elicit a lot of discussion on how putting them into practice. In order to bring the discussion forward and to learn about good practices and developments, it seems informative to look at other criminal systems. In the Netherlands, for example, victims still have a relatively modest role and the influence of victims in court is still very much debated. Whereas at the International Criminal Court (ICC), victims already have a set of participatory rights that are more influential. What are the challenges, opportunities and differences in each system?

The seminar "Victims within Criminal Trials" aims to bring together academics and practitioners who engage with victims in criminal law on a daily basis. Practitioners will learn about the most recent academic insights on victims in criminal trials, and academics will learn about the challenges and problems encountered in day-to-day practices. In addition, the seminar brings together experts from domestic and international courts in order to compare and contrast their experiences, practices and insights.

Three important victim-centric topics will be discussed: victims participation, reparation and apologies. The discussion panels will consist of both practitioners and academics, with expertise in international and domestic courts. Speakers will highlight the most important developments over the last decade and explore the promises and challenges of victims participation, reparation and apologies within criminal trials. Each panel will be concluded by a discussant highlighting the main similarities and differences between the domestic and the international courts, and bringing together academia and practice.

Period	13 Jun 2018
Event type	Seminar