Inquiry About The Improvement Of The Protection Of Procedural Rights Of Crime Victims

Human rights have become the main issue nowadays.After the amendments to the Criminal Procedure Law in 1997,the protection of human rights in China has made enormous progress. But there isn't enough concern about the protection of procedural rights of the victims in criminal proceedings .Moreover, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure law are less than satisfactory . This paper intends to inquire into the improvement of the protection of procedural rights of crime victims.The victims in criminal proceedings is a concept of the procedural law .It differ from the normal sense and the significance of the criminal law of crime victims. Only when crime victims participate in criminal proceedings, exercise procedural rights of victims,fulfil those obligations, the victims can became the victims in criminal proceedings . The victims of criminal proceedings are those people whose legitimate rights or legitimate interests have been infringed directly ,who participate in criminal proceedings and therefore, ask to investigate the criminal responsibility of the criminal suspect or defendant.Enhancing the protection of rights of crime victims in criminal proceedings is of great value. It is helpful to punish crime quickly and accurately . It also help to heal the wounds of victims ,avoide the act of vengeance and safeguard the stability of the society, maintain the fairness and justice of the law. The international community is very concerned about the rights of crime victims .The protecton is very detailed and complete.There is the protection of procedural rights of the victims. It also gives plenty of the right of relief for their procedural rights of the victims .The ideal of protection of the rights of the victims is mainly embodied in the first statement about the victims, ? the basic principles of the declaration for crime victims and victim infringed by abuse of power to struggle for justice》, and the others were found in the?Universal Declaration of Human Rights》,《Public International law on Civil and Political Rights》,《The Decision on issue of the discussion of human rights in criminal proceedings》,etc.All of these provisions constitute international standards of protection of the rights of the crime victims .On June 28, 1985, the conference of Ministers of the European Parliament approved the propose of the improvements to the statue of the victims in criminal law and criminal procedure law.In United States,《The federal law for the protection of the witnesses and victims》has listed all the things Legal institutions should do for the victims. In June 2000,French Parliament passed《The law for strengthening the legal protection of the presumption of innocence and rights of victims》. Dans this law, it was made provision in the three aspects , the protection of dignity of the victims in the process of pre-investigation and investigation, the assistance to victims and the association acting as a civil parties,compensation to the victims.On december 18, 1986 ,the Federal Republic of Germany passed《The Act of Protection of the Victim》.It was revised in aspect of solving difficult problems ,for example: the protection of the dignity of the victims and other personnel involved in the trial , increasing the possibility of participants in trial for the victims in criminal trials, increasing the possibility for the victims to receive compensation,etc.There are several major quetions . First of all, the Criminal Procedure Law does not give victims the right to appeal,furthermore, the right to participate in the trail hasn't be provided clearly, concretely.Thirdly, victim can't propose punishment. There is the lack of authority of agents adlitem of Victims .Moreover ,the content of right to know of victims isn't comprehensive. According to the current situation of legislation and the justice , learning from the experience and practice of the international community ,in order to perfect the rights of victims in criminal proceedings , the focus should be in the following five areas :I . Crime victims should be given the right to appeal. As for parties in the criminal proceedings ,it is natural to have this right.lt will not conflict with the right to protest of the procuratorial organs.Certainly,it will not limit or diminish the right to appeal of the defendants and it will not lead to "abuse of the judicial process". Conversely ,it will help to strengthen judicial supervision and maintain the right of the victims.II .It is nessessary to improve the provision of the participation in court of the victims. For example,to make clear that victims should attend the court hearing, victims shoud have the seats in the district court, before the opening of the court session, a copy of the bill of prosecution of the Pepople's Procuratorate should be delivered to the victims, before the jugement is pronounced,the final statement of the victims shoud be heard ,the exercise of the rights of victims in the court hearing shoud be ensured.HI. Reasonably ,crime victims shoud have the right to propose punishment. The exercise of this right should be assited by lawyers. Their recommendations of the punishment must have specific, sufficient facts and the legal basis for support. Crime victims must follow the general principles of sentencing and consider various factors that influence sentencing during exercising the right to propose punishment.IV. The law must strengthen the substantiality of the rights of agents ad litem of crime victims ,expand the scope of the material of the fact of the crime,give agents ad litem of the victims the legal independent right to investigation, make clear the responsibility of agents ad litem of victims.V. The right to know shoud be improved by the legislature. During filing a case, investigation, prosecution, trial and other stage of the proceedings ,the public security organs, People's Procuratorates, Pepole's courts shall inform the victims what right that they have in each stage.The victims should have the rights such as the right to know ,the right to request for these security, the right to seek compensation ,the right to assistance,the right to have agent ad litem, the right to request additional identification or re-verification, the right to be notified before the opening of the court ,the right to privacy, the right to know the progress of the case ,the right to cancel or modify the compulsory measures,the right to access to the main evidence , the right to obtain a copy of the bill of prosecution and the right to know the prosecutions ,the right to participate in the trial,the right to file the charges and appeles to seek compensation for the violation of his right by the members of the judicial.