EUROPEAN UNION STANDARDS IN THE PROTECTION OF VICTIMS OF CRIME

MIRIĆ Filip (Dr Filip Mirić, naučni saradnik i samostalni stručno-tehnički saradnik za studije i studentska pitanja, Pravni fakultet u Nišu), filip@prafak.ni.ac.rs
GOLUBOVIĆ Bojana (Msr Bojana Golubović, studentkinja doktorskih studija, Pravni fakultet u Nišu), golubovic_bojana@hotmail.com

Victims of crime deserve special protection. Namely, the commission of crime represents a very traumatic experience for victims. If there is no effective system of support and protection, victims are often exposed to the risk of secondary victimization. The need to create an effective system for protection and support of victims was also recognized at the level of the European Union, which resulted in the adoption of the Directive of the European Parliament and the European Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime. The authors analyze the measures and mechanisms for the protection of victims of crime contained in the Directive and their applicability to the law of the Republic of Serbia, bearing in mind the need to harmonize the law of the Republic of Serbia with the law of the European Union. The paper also pointed out the basic problems in the system of protection of the rights of victims in Serbia and proposed measures for their solution.

Keywords: criminal legislation, protection of victims’ rights, European Union