Evaluating the current state of realization of victims’ rights in the criminal process: An explanation under Ukrainian and Indian criminal procedure codes

Abstract

Respecting and protecting all parties have always been the objective of every criminal proceeding, aiming to achieve justice at every stage of the criminal trial. This protection becomes of utmost importance when dealing with victims who have suffered injuries because of crime. For this reason, both India and Ukraine have given special protection to victims’ rights throughout the criminal process. This paper aims to analyze the role and degree of protection offered by these criminal procedure codes in respecting the rights of victims. Despite all the procedures put in place, the condition of the victim is still questionable, which has considerably affected the credibility of these countries’ criminal procedure codes. To determine whether they really ensure the respect of victims’ rights, a comparative methodology was used to establish the expectations of the two criminal law systems in this matter. The findings suggest that even though the criminal procedure codes of both countries have relevant provisions to protect the victims’ rights, their criminal procedure systems are still marred with issues regarding this aspect. Consequently, there is a need to revisit these codes to ensure that the rights of parties, especially those of the victims, are respected.