Victim Participation Rights

This book traces victims’ active participatory rights through different procedural stages in adversarial and non-adversarial justice systems, in an attempt to identify what role victims play during criminal proceedings in the domestic setting. Braun analyses countries with different legal traditions, including: the United States, England, Wales and Australia (as examples of mostly adversarial countries); Germany and France (as examples of inquisitorial systems); as well as Denmark and Sweden with their mixed inquisitorial-adversarial background. Victim Participation Rights is distinctive in that it assesses the implementation of formal processes and procedures concerning victim participation at three different procedural stages: first, investigation and pre-trial; second, trial and sentencing; and third, post-trial with a focus on appeal and parole. In addition, Braun provides an in-depth case study on the general position of victims in criminal trials, especially in light of national criminal justice policy, in Germany, a mostly inquisitorial system and Australia, a largely adversarial system. In light of its findings, the book ponders whether, at this stage in time, a greater focus on victim protection rather than on active procedural rights could be more beneficial to enhancing the overall experience of victims. In this context, it takes a close look at the merits of introducing or expanding legal representation schemes for victims.

“Victim Participation Rights: Victims across Criminal Justice Systems opens up a range of possibilities for integrating victims at all procedural stages of a criminal matter and presents a thoughtful case for expanding legal representation schemes for victims. As such, this book will be of considerable interest to scholars and policy-makers in the field.” (Tracey Booth, Current Issues in Criminal Justice, Vol. 31 (4), 2019)

“Kerstin Braun’s book … offers a much-needed overview of victim participation rights across national criminal justice systems. Braun’s book is highly informative as she contrasts and compares inquisitorial, accusatorial and mixed systems. … Braun highlights the importance of protection and victims’ right to protection in the criminal justice process.” (Jo-Anne Wemmers, International Review of Victimology, Vol. 25 (3), 2019)
“Victim participation in criminal justice has a long history in different of the world's legal systems but has been comprehensively displaced by state authorities. Kerstin Braun provides detailed analysis of the participatory traces that remain. Her book will be essential reading for those seeking to re-engage with these old ways of doing justice and to re-engineer participatory opportunities for victims into the future.” (Dr. Robyn Holder, Griffith University, Australia)

“This is a highly engaging book which provides a reflective and rigorous account of various forms of victim participation across a variety of jurisdictions. The arguments are effectively marshalled and persuasively developed. In sum, it is an extremely timely contribution which will be of great value to criminal justice academics, practitioners and others who hold a general interest in the area.” (Professor Jonathan Doak, Nottingham Law School , UK)

“This volume provides a comprehensive insight into the different concepts of victim representation in criminal proceedings. The comparison of model justice systems demonstrates that it is primarily victims who face unequal procedural treatment. For defendants, it makes very little difference whether they are tried in Brisbane or Paris, London or Frankfurt, Chicago or Stockholm: in principle, their procedural standing remains the same. For victims, however, the location of a trial can have a significant effect on their representation. Kerstin Braun's book is a valuable resource that offers condensed and well-selected information about why this is the case and illustrates ways forward.” (Dr Michael Kilchling, Senior Researcher, Max-Planck-Institute For Foreign And International Criminal Law, Germany)

“Kerstin Braun’s new book, Victim Participation Rights: Variation Across Criminal Justice Systems, thoughtfully explicates a revolutionary (but often overlooked) recent development in criminal justice systems around the globe: Participation by crime victims in criminal justice processes.  As Braun explains, crime victims’ voices are increasingly being heard in criminal cases, in systems as divergent as America’s, England’s, and Australia’s.   Anyone interested in understanding contemporary criminal justice will find much to learn from Braun.” (Paul G. Cassell, S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah)

 

 

Kerstin Braun is Senior Lecturer in the School of Law and Justice at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia, where she teaches criminal law and procedure. Following her studies in Muenster, Duesseldorf and Turin she was licensed to practice law in Germany in 2009. She has published widely in areas concerning comparative criminal law and victims’ rights.