Selected victim protection measures in ordinary criminal proceedings

Abstract

The victim becomes a participant in the criminal proceedings not because he or she has consciously made such a decision. It is almost always that the victim becomes a participant against their will, which is caused by a direct violation or threat to its legal interest by a criminal offence. This is reflected in the legal definition of the victim contained in Article 49 § 1 of the Criminal Procedure Code (hereinafter CPC) . Cezary Kulesza notes that this definition contains the following elements: subjective (natural or juridical person) and objective, relating to the legal interest infringed by the criminal offence to the extent defined by that provision, but also a provision of substantive criminal law (Kulesza, 1995, p. 17–18). The victim's participation in criminal proceedings makes the victim a participant in those proceedings, whether natural or juridical person, and that participation is limited to fulfilling the role assigned to them by the criminal procedural law (Tylman, 2003, p. 47). The legislature attributes three roles to the victim: in the pre-trial proceedings, the victim is a party (Article 299 § 1 CPC), in the judicial proceedings, the victim may be an auxiliary prosecutor (Article 53 CPC), incidental or subsidiary, and in the course of the entire criminal proceeding, also a testimonial evidence source (Article 177 § 1 CPC, Article 185a § 1 CPC, Article 185c CPC). The status of a party to pre-trial proceedings is acquired by operation of law and does not require the victim to take any action. The situation is different in judicial proceedings, where acquiring the status of auxiliary prosecutor requires a certain effort to by the victim, namely expressing the will to act in that capacity.