REFLECŢII PRIVIND VICTIMA ÎN DREPTUL PENAL EUROPEAN

Maria STRULEA, Mihaela VIDAICU Catedra Drept Penal şi Criminologie

Rezumat

The status of victim of a criminal act is considered an interesting and important issue in national and international law. One of the main competences of state authorities in the criminal justice field is to carry out the criminal investigation in order to establish and to prove the elements of the crime. However, the victim is the one who has to be legally protected during the investigations and whose rights should be ensured at all stages of the criminal process. If on national level there are some provisions that cover victims’ rights, it is more complicated to assist the victim when it comes to organized crime and criminal investigations carried out on the territory of several states. In this context, such organizations as Counsel of Europe and European Union try to design a comprehensive framework for member states in order to facilitate their cooperation. In this sense, several international conventions and recommendations were adopted and ratified by member states. International provisions help national authorities to develop good cooperation on criminal matters and provide them with necessary instruments to deal with specific situations. Finally, status of the victim was internationalized through the national and international regulations and, thus, specific rules have to be applied in this area.