We can all become victims of a crime. Crime is, unfortunately, widespread and jeopardises the individual, his family and community, and the entire society as well.
Therefore, there are direct and indirect victims. Every victim has rights, including the right to assistance and support.
A victim of a crime is defined in Serbian criminal law using the term INJURED PARTY.
The injured party is a person whose personal or property rights were violated or jeopardised by a criminal offence. (Article 2 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Serbia)
Criminal acts are defined in the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia.
The position of the injured party (victim) is regulated foremost by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Serbia (hereinafter: CPC) in SECTION V – INJURED PARTY, INJURED PARTY AS A SUBSIDIARY PROSECUTOR AND PRIVATE PROSECUTOR, which regulates the following items:
1. Injured party - (which is defined in Article 2 of the CPC as the “person whose personal or property right was violated or jeopardised”)
• Rights of the Injured Party (Article 50)
• Objection of the Injured Party (Article 51)
• Assumption of Criminal Prosecution by the Injured Party (Article 52)
• Motion Initiating Criminal Prosecution (Article 53)
• Abandoning a Motion for Criminal Prosecution (Article 54)
• Duty of the Injured Party (Article 55)
• Legal Representative of the Injured Party (Article 56)
• Legal Successor of the Injured Party (Article 57)
2. Injured party as a subsidiary prosecutor (defined in Article 2 of the CPC as the “person who has taken over prosecution from a public prosecutor”)
• Rights of the Injured Party as Subsidiary Prosecutor (Article 58)
• Appointed Proxy (Article 59)
• Termination of Status of Subsidiary Prosecutor (Article 60)
• Dismissing Charges (Article 61)
• Assumption of Criminal Prosecution by the Public Prosecutor (Article 62)
3. Private prosecutor (defined in Article 2 of the CPC as the “person who has submitted a private prosecution in connection with a criminal offence prosecutable by law by private prosecution”)
• Rights of Private Prosecutors (Article 64)
• Private Prosecution (Article 65)
• Counter-suit (Article 66)
The position of underage victims of criminal offences is governed by the Law on Juvenile Crime Offenders and Criminal Protection of Juveniles (link) (RS Official Gazette, no 85/2005), which contains special provisions on protection of children and minors as injured parties in criminal procedure.
Protection of victims of domestic violence is more closely governed by the Family Law (Articles 197 through 200, RS Official Gazette, nos 18/2005, 72/2011 - other law and 6/2015), and the right of victims to information, free legal aid, and the individual plan for protection and support is also defined by the Domestic Violence Prevention Law (Articles 29 – 31, RS Official Gazette, no 94/2016)
