Review article
Procedural aspects of questioning child victims and the recent case law in the light of Directive 2012/29/EU
Ljiljana Stipišić
; Županijski sud u Splitu, Split, Hrvatska
Abstract
A rise in the incidence of various criminal offences against children has been observed in the modern world, and for this reason the current criminal legislation pays particular attention to the protection of children and their rights. Directive 2012/29/EU establishes minimum standards guaranteeing the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, especially when these victims are children as particularly sensitive and vulnerable persons. Therefore, it is important to transpose the provisions of the Directive into Croatian criminal procedure law with a view to optimising domestic legal solutions and achieving synergy between European and Croatian law.
The aim of this paper is to offer, after a brief historical overview, an analysis of the procedural status and rights of child victims in criminal proceedings through the implementation of the Directive, its reflection in practice, and possible legislative amendments. A study was conducted of the case law, including the relevant decisions of the ECtHR and how they affected the decisions of Croatian courts. The study also focused on the protection of the rights of the child as a counterbalance to the protection of the rights of the defendant in the decisions of the Croatian Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and county courts. A comparative analysis of the modalities of questioning children in Italian and American law points to similar problematic situations related to the protection of the rights of child victims in the light of the defendant’s right to defence, and provides proposals on how to improve the protection of the rights of children de lege ferenda.
Keywords
questioning; child victims; protection of the rights of children; Directive 2012/29/EU; the right of the defendant to defence; right to a fair trial
Hrčak ID:
218959
URI
Publication date:
12.12.2018.
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