WRITTEN QUESTION E-3004/02

by Eija-Riitta Korhola (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 October 2002)

Subject: Legal safeguards for the victim, mobility of citizens, and rape victims in the EU

A Finnish national has written from Greece about her experience when she toured the country in 1999. The rape victim concerned had managed to memorise the registration number of her attacker's car and

passed on the information to the police on the night of the attack. An examination by a Greek doctor confirmed that she had been raped. On the following day she again recounted the events before a magistrate, and the examination minutes were drawn up in Greek with the assistance of an interpreter. She did not receive copies of the indictment or the examination minutes. In February of this year she was summoned to appear in court, but the person accused in the trial was the victim herself on the grounds of perjury. The rapist had been acquitted of the rape charge in October 2000, but the victim was not informed and consequently had no possibility of appeal at that time. In April the victim was found guilty of perjury and sentenced to a 20-month unconditional prison term. The case described is an isolated example but presumably reflects the prevailing practice.

Does the difference in Member States' judicial customs constitute such an obstacle to the freedoms created for citizens in the EU that those freedoms cannot be considered real in practice? How could the position of rape victims be improved through joint action in the EU?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(9 January 2003)

1. On the basis of the information provided by the Honourable Member, it would seem that the right to defence of the woman involved in the case as laid out by Article 6(3) the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and by Article 48(2) of the Union Charter of Fundamental Rights has been violated, and that she would have a cause of action at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on the facts as outlined. Article 6(3) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) provides for the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation, to have adequate time to prepare one's defence, to defend oneself either in person or through counsel, to examine the prosecution witnesses and finally to have the free assistance of an interpreter. The Commission is preparing an initiative that should result in common minimum standards of procedural safeguards being set for defendants in criminal proceedings throughout the entire Union. A Green Paper on the subject will be published in January 2003 and a proposal for a Framework Decision is planned for December 2003.

2. Violations of fundamental rights, such as the one described above, can, in certain cases have a negative effect on the exercise by Union citizens of their right to free movement throughout the Union. The issue of how to better ensure that Member States respect fundamental rights should be addressed.

3. As regards victims' rights, the Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings(1) will very much improve the situation of all victims of crime in the Union, including rape victims. The aim of the Framework Decision is to lay down requirements for the Member States to improve the services on offer to victims of crime. The improvements suggested include making better information available to crime victims, recognising their role in criminal proceedings, making safeguards available to them and to their families and increasing their options generally. This will include enabling victims to participate more fully in the criminal proceedings affecting them (giving them a real and appropriate role in proceedings) so that a situation such as this where the victim was not given the opportunity to testify nor informed of the outcome should no longer occur. Other provisions include giving victims the chance of victim-offender mediation if they so wish, ensuring that their privacy is protected and special provisions for victims falling within the most vulnerable groups and victims resident in another Member State. It also lays down safeguards ensuring effective communication, to be comparable to those offered to defendants, legal aid and other sorts of advice to be provided free where warranted and, where victims participate in legal proceedings, reimbursement of their expenses. The Framework Decision also guarantees the right of protection, to include the victim's family if necessary and the right to a decision on compensation within the context of the criminal proceedings. Article 11 specifically provides that Member States should minimise the difficulties faced by victims resident in a Member State different from the one in which the offence occurred and Article 12 provides that

Member States must cooperate with each other. Most of the provisions are to be implemented by 22 March 2002. Articles 5 and 6, communication safeguards and specific assistance to the victim, are to be implemented by 22 March 2004. Article 10, penal mediation in the course of criminal proceedings, is to be implemented by 22 March 2006.

(1) OJ L 82, 22.3.2001.