This book examines the international, regional and domestic human rights frameworks that establish victim rights as a central force in law and policy in the twenty-first century. Accessing substantial source material that sets out a normative framework of victim rights, this work argues that despite degrees of convergence, victim rights are interpreted on the domestic level, in accordance with the localised interests of victims and individual states. The transition of the victim from peripheral to central stakeholder of justice is demonstrated across various adversarial, inquisitorial and hybrid systems in an international context.

Examining the standing of victims globally, this book provides a comparative analysis of the role of the victim in the International Criminal Court, the ad hoc tribunals leading to the development of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, together with the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia, Special Panels of East Timor (Timor Leste), and the Internationalised Panels in Kosovo. The instruments of the European Parliament and Council of Europe, with the rulings of the European Court of Justice, and the European Court of Human Rights, interpreting the European Convention of Human Rights, are examined. These instruments are further contextualised on the local, domestic level of the inquisitorial systems of Germany and France, and mixed systems of Sweden, Austria and the Netherlands, together with common law systems including, England and Wales, Ireland, Scotland, USA, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and the hybrid systems of Japan and Brazil.

This book organises the authoritative instruments while advancing debate over the positioning of the victim in law and policy, as influenced by global trends in criminal justice, and will be of great interest to scholars of international law, criminal law, victimology and socio-legal studies.

About the Author

Dr Tyrone Kirchengast is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of New South Wales, Australia. He is admitted as a legal practitioner of the Supreme Court of NSW and is a barrister and solicitor of the High Court of Australia. Before joining the Faculty of Law, he lectured at the University of Newcastle, and Macquarie University, Australia. His principal teaching and research interests are in criminal law and procedure and his publications focus on the integration of victim interests within criminal law. His recent work focuses on the role of victim impact statements in sentencing homicide offenders; the rise of victim lawyers and the integration of victims into adversarial proceedings; and victim rights as human rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and before the International Criminal Court. He has published widely on victim rights.

Reviews

Kirchengast provides researchers with the status report on rights for victims of crime in the inquisitorial, adversarial and hybrid legal systems. It is an essential resource to getting victims the long overdue equitable access to justice across the world. Irvin Waller, author of Rights for Victims of Crime: Rebalancing Justice

The nature and status of victim rights remains ill understood internationally. Tyrone Kirchengast brings full analytical rigour to shed a comparative and international light on this most topical issue. "Victimology and Victim Rights" is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the topic. Professor Frederic Megret, William Dawson Scholar, Faculty of Law, McGill University, Canada Research Chair on the Law of Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, 2006-2015.

This important new book traces how crime victims' rights have been expanding on often parallel (and sometimes different) tracks in various countries around the globe. It is a "must read" for anyone trying to understand emerging norms in victimology and victims' rights. It also offers a systematic view of victims' rights in both supra-national bodies such as the European Court of Justice as well as in domestic law in many countries around the world. The book fills an important gap by stepping back and taking a comparative view of what is one of the most important subjects in criminal law today. Paul G. Cassell, Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Professor of Criminal Law, University Distinguished Professor of Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah

An important addition to the literature in victimology and legal studies, the book provides a comprehensive discussion of the interface between social science research on victims in justice proceedings and victim rights from a comparative perspective. Integrating findings from multi-jurisdictional approaches to the study of victims, victimization, and victim rights, it fills a void in the burgeoning victimological literature. Professor Kirchengast has meticulously assembled and analyzed case studies from different jurisdictions, legal systems, regional and international fori addressing victim rights, resulting in an impressive work that will serve well victimologists, legal scholars, and policy makers in efforts to advance crime victims' concerns and rights.

Edna Erez, University of Illinois at Chicago

Kirchengast provides researchers with the status report on rights for victims of crime in the inquisitorial, adversarial and hybrid legal systems. It is an essential resource to getting victims the long overdue equitable access to justice across the world. Irvin Waller, author of Rights for Victims of Crime: Rebalancing Justice

The nature and status of victim rights remains ill understood internationally. Tyrone Kirchengast brings full analytical rigour to shed a comparative and international light on this most topical issue. "Victimology and Victim Rights" is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the topic. Professor Frederic Megret, William Dawson Scholar, Faculty of Law, McGill University, Canada Research Chair on the Law of Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, 2006-2015.

This important new book traces how crime victims' rights have been expanding on often parallel (and sometimes different) tracks in various countries around the globe. It is a "must read" for anyone trying to understand emerging norms in victimology and victims' rights. It also offers a systematic view of victims' rights in both supra-national bodies such as the European Court of Justice as well as in domestic law in many countries around the world. The book fills an important gap by stepping back and taking a comparative view of what is one of the most important subjects in criminal law today. Paul G. Cassell, Ronald N. Boyce Presidential Professor of Criminal Law, University Distinguished Professor of Law, S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah

An important addition to the literature in victimology and legal studies, the book provides a comprehensive discussion of the interface between social science research on victims in justice proceedings and victim rights from a comparative perspective. Integrating findings from multi-jurisdictional approaches to the study of victims, victimization, and victim rights, it fills a void in the burgeoning victimological literature. Professor Kirchengast has meticulously assembled and analyzed case studies from different jurisdictions, legal systems, regional and international fori addressing victim rights, resulting in an impressive work that will serve well victimologists, legal scholars, and policy makers in efforts to advance crime victims' concerns and rights.

Edna Erez, University of Illinois at Chicago

"...the book's core strength...is to successfully present a stratified comparative analysis of victim rights in an accessible way and within a victimological framework. This is no small feat and is of significant value for those interested in the advancement of victim rights, especially scholars working within the field of law, victimology and socio-legal studies." Hildur Fjola Antonsdottir, International Review of Victimology

Book Information
ISBN 9781138606395
Author Tyrone Kirchengast
Format Paperback
Page Count 254
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 470g