General Obligations of the State Towards Victims in International Law

The history of the victim’s role in criminal proceedings should be viewed dialectically, starting from the complete denial of the victim’s right to participate in criminal justice due to the state’s dominance in controlling prosecution and punishment, and culminating in the modern understanding, based on the unconditional recognition of the victim’s role in shaping criminal law and justice. The consolidated state power in prosecuting offenders and imposing penalties incorporates a legislatively regulated and judicially practiced framework for the victim’s participation in criminal proceedings, which includes filing a civil claim. This evolution has been facilitated by international legal instruments and the progressively developing case law of the European Court of Human Rights. A significant step forward is represented by the commented judgment of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights “Fabbri and Others v. San Marino”, where the Court not only summarised certain aspects of its previous case law but also emphasised several important features: the applicant must possess a substantive civil right recognised under domestic law; this right must grant the victim of the offense procedural rights to seek compensation for the damage incurred; the victim’s diligence in pursuing and asserting the civil claim should be assessed, which is relevant both to the application of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights under its civil limb and to the state’s obligation to ensure effective access to justice; the existence of a significant dysfunction in the domestic legal system that led to the discontinuance of criminal proceedings should be identified; a balanced approach should be applied to reconcile the legal principles of justice and legal certainty.