- Browse/Search the Program
Search
Program Calendar
Browse By Day
Browse By Room
- Information Menu
Search Tips
Virtual Exhibit Hall
- Navigation and Settings Menu
Personal Schedule
Sign In
The victims' right to state compensation in Romania
Thu, September 12, 4:00 to 5:15pm, Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest, Floor: Ground floor, Amphitheater 4 „Vintilă Dongoroz”Abstract
This contribution examines the victims' right to state compensation in Romania. It focuses on legislation and its application, using case-law and empirical data reflecting the practical impact of legal texts. Having faced a lack of national data regarding the exercise of the victims' right to access state compensation, the data were collected by applying the instruments enforced by Law no 544/2001 on access to public information. Requests for information regarding victims' access to state compensation from January 2005 to September 2023 were submitted to all 41 Romanian tribunals. This is the first empirical research on this topic in Romania. The data indicates several problems concerning state compensation, such as a low number of crime victims requesting access to such compensation, a low number of granted requests, and a low amount of compensation.
This contribution analyses factors that might contribute to this reality. First, the legislation imposes several restrictive eligibility criteria for state compensation. Secondly, the victims lack awareness of the right to state compensation. The study of several finally decided cases at the archive of Cluj Napoca courts revealed that, as a rule, the investigative authorities do not fulfill their duty of information. Thirdly, exercising the right to access state compensation highly depends on legal assistance. The research included obtaining data on victims' access to legal aid and an online questionnaire distributed to Cluj Bar lawyers. Since the victims' access to legal assistance is at a low level and lawyers are not trained on victims' rights, the capacity of victims to access state compensation is also low.
Considering the recent development of a rights-based approach to victim support in the EU, the research findings will support policy proposals aiming to enforce the application of victims' right to state compensation in Romania.