Title: A persistent and hateful non-fulfilment: the Community Directive on the protection of the crime victims.

Date: 07/05/2007

Subject: The comment takes the cue from the claim, presented to the Court of Justice by the Commission on 26 February 2007 (case C 112/07), concerning the Italian State’s non-fulfilment of the obligation of enforcing the community directive n. 2004/80/EC, about compensation for crime victims, in the national legal system. While examining the above said violation, the Author broaches the Community Institutions’ interest for the protection of crimes victims, starting from the Convention of the Council of Europe concerning the compensation of violent crime victims (Strasburg, 24 November 1983), and following with, within the European Union, the Decision n. 2201/220/GAI of 15 March 2001 concerning the victim position in the criminal procedure, and, in the direction of harmonization of legal systems – which aims to guarantee to crime victims the informed and protected participation to criminal procedures – the Community Directive n. 2004/80/EC of the Council of 29 April 2004.

Original language: Italian

Classification: Dignity - Art. 3 Physical and mental integrity - Freedoms - Art. 6 Personal liberty - Personal security - Equality - Art. 20 Equality - Justice - Art. 47 Right to an effective remedy before a tribunal

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Notices: None of the Community norms on protection of crime victims has had effect in Italy. Unlike 21 other States members of the Council of Europe, Italy has never ratified the European Convention, with the consequence that in our legal system has never been fully enforced the basic principle of the Treaty, included in art. 2, par. 1: if no compensation can be guaranteed by other sources, the State must contribute to the compensation for both those who have suffered considerable damages to the body or to their health, directly caused by an intentional violent crime, and those who were dipendent on the person who died as a consequence of that crime. The Author examines the apathy of the Italian Institutions with regard to the Community and Council of Europe’s initiatives concerning the protection of crime victims.