- I WAS VICTIM OF CRIME: CONSEQUENCES AND REACTIONS
- VICTIM RIGHTS
- IF YOU HAVE BEEN THE VICTIM OF A CRIME YOU HAVE THE RIGHT:
- SELECTED RIGHTS OF VICTIMS IN A SPECIAL SITUATION
- THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CRIME
- RIGHTS OF VICTIMS PROTECTION
- THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD
- VICTIM’S RIGHTS IN CASE OF REFUSAL OR DISCONTINUATION OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDING
- RIGHT TO MEDIATION
- RIGHT TO LEGAL ASSISTANCE
- RIGHT OF WITNESS TO BE REIMBURSED FOR INCOME LOST AND COST OF TRAVELLING
- RIGHT TO RETURN OF PROPERTY
- RIGHT OF VICTIMS IN NEED OF PARTICULAR PROTECTION
- RIGHTS OF VICTIMS LIVING IN ANOTHER EU MEMBER STATE
- CRIMINAL COURT PROCEEDING
- WHO IS WHO
THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AFFECTED BY CRIME
The provisions that require special protection of children victims of crime in criminal proceedings are: the Act of 13 June 2013 amending the Act - Penal Code and the Act - Code of Criminal Procedure and the Regulation of the Minister of Justice of 18 December 2013 on the method of preparation of the hearing conducted in specified mode
in art. 185a–185c of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Article 185a § 1–3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure defines the protective conditions for the participation of children under the age of 15 in questioning
in cases of crimes committed with the use of violence or unlawful threat or specified
in chapters XXIII, XXV and XXVI of the Penal Code.
These specific conditions are:
the aggrieved party, who at the time of the interrogation is under 15 years of age, is interrogated as a witness only when his testimony may be of significant importance for the resolution of the case; as a rule, one-time interviewing; yyconducting questioning by the court at a meeting (in preparatory proceedings pursuant to Art. 329 § 1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure); yy limited list of persons authorized to participate in the hearing; the possibility of participating in the interrogation of a parent or an adult person whom he/she will indicate
the child (provided that this does not limit the freedom of expression of the injured child); ycompulsory participation of an expert psychologist; yy obligatory recording of the course of the interrogation with the use of a device recording image and sound; yyobligation to conduct the interview in a room specially prepared for this purpose.
IMPORTANT:
According to many experts, every child (i.e. a person under the age of 18), regardless of what crime they have been subjected to, should be interrogated in accordance with the above, the so-called safe mode and in a friendly place.
Therefore, you have the right to request a hearing of a child - a person injured by a crime (but also a witness of a crime) in accordance with Art. 185a § 1-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure due to a justified fear that an interrogation in other conditions could have a negative impact on the child's mental state (pursuant to Art. 185a § 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure)