Protection of victims’ rights and lawful interests

Article 52 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation provides that ‘the rights of victims of crimes and of abuse of office shall be protected by law. The State shall provide access to justice for them and a compensation for sustained damage’.

Moreover, according to part 3 of art.42 of the Russian Criminal Procedural Code “to the victim shall be guaranteed the compensation for the property damage, inflicted by the crime, as well as for the outlays he has had to make in connection with his participation in the process of the preliminary investigation and of the trial, including the outlays on the representative.”

But numerous are breaches of law committed by state authorities during criminal procedure concerning the evaluation of damage incurred by victims, which can be explained by unclear legislation. That is why it is a representative advocate that can help to deal with tricky legal rules.

That is why the representative advocate can be charged with the control of the compensation of the damage to the victim in the scope of the criminal procedure. In particular, the representative advocate can take an active part in the valuation of the precise amount and the extent of the damage, as well as in the definition of criteria and type of the damage incurred by the victim of the crime.