Position of victims of sexual violence in court proceedings in the Republic of Serbia

Analyses and recommendations for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Law on Civil Procedure of the Republic of Serbia

Through decades of monitoring and analyzing war crimes trials in Serbia, the Humanitarian Law Center (HLC) has identified shortcomings in the normative framework concerning the support and protection of witnesses and victims in criminal proceedings, particularly in cases involving sexual violence in wartime. These gaps and inadequate legal solutions, as well as certain inconsistencies with international standards, were confirmed through a consultative process conducted by the HLC to examine the rights and position of sexual violence victims in judicial proceedings.

Using a questionnaire developed for this purpose, the HLC strived to capture different perspectives and experiences of those who, within judicial institutions, deal with providing support to the injured parties and legal counsels of the victims in criminal proceedings. The goal was also to gain an overview of the experiences and good practices developed by civil society organizations in the support of sexual violence victims before, during and after court proceedings. The consultative process confirmed the initial hypothesis of this analysis concerning the need for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code to improve the position of victims in both criminal and civil proceedings.

Intending to improve the rights and position of victims of sexual violence, the HLC proposes reforms to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code. Amendments to the CPC and LCP in this context are not relevant only for the victims of sexual violence in armed conflicts, but would equally affect jurisprudence in cases of gender-based violence and criminal proceedings against sexual freedoms, as well as civil proceedings for compensation of damages to victims of sexual violence.

Based on the consultative process and analysis conducted, the HLC has prepared a set of recommendations for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and the Civil Procedure Code that would improve the position of victims of sexual violence and minimize re-victimization as much as possible. These recommendations and the HLC’s comments on the draft law on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code submitted to the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Serbia during the public debate on this draft law can be found at the following link.