tribune news network
doha
The 19th World Congress on Criminology, hosted by Doha, concluded yesterday, with a series of sessions on several topics with the participation of a group of international experts and specialists.
Victims of Crime
The 20th session of the three-day congress discussed the various aspects of crime and its victims. Dr. Lars Holmberg from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark presented the first working paper on the ‘Rights of victims: In the interest of victims or in the interest of the criminal justice system?’ He explained the relationship between the victims and the police stations and issues related to the prevention of their right to communicate with the people who wish to communicate with them while in police stations, as well as the right to the presence of a lawyer during investigations.
He said that appropriate assistance to victims at all stages of legal proceedings is a human right, a legal duty and a moral conduct that must be performed by the competent agencies, especially the police force in all countries, as called for by the United Nations.
The rights of victims are often lost due to inappropriate actions taken by police agencies in some countries or through the mismanagement of the files dealing with victims. Such actions, he noted, could be the outcomes of lack of experience or lack of training. He stressed the importance of enabling victims to obtain justice through official procedures.
Preserving the rights of the victim makes him feel safe and secure and trust the police. It puts heavy responsibility on the agencies in their behavior and professional duty to carry out the tasks assigned to them.
Dr. Daems Tom of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium spoke on ‘Victims of crime and the civilizing process’. He explained in his working paper the concept of victims as persons who have suffered physical or mental harm, psychological woes or deprivation of the enjoyment of their fundamental rights, through acts that violate the criminal laws. He pointed out that a person is considered a victim under this definition regardless of whether the perpetrator was arrested or not, regardless of the family relationship between him and the victim.
The victims of crime must be treated with compassion and respect and be given access to justice mechanisms and prompt justice, as required by legislation in their countries.
Judicial and administrative procedures should also be strengthened to enable the victims to obtain justice through prompt and fair formal or informal proceedings, as well as to inform victims of their rights to seek through such procedures.
He stressed the importance of informing victims of their role, the scope and timing of the proceedings and the manner in which they decide their cases, as well as the opportunity to present their views and take them into account.
Juvenile Delinquency
In the session on ‘juvenile delinquency’, researcher Rafaelle Carolynne of Brazil reviewed a study on alcohol abuse and violent engagement among adolescents.
Explaining why teenagers are taking drugs, she said the most common reasons include exploratory use of adolescents and enjoyment or for the purpose of relief from things such as depression and tension. Repeated uses of drugs may lead to addiction and behavioral and health problems. It can affect the brain, depending on the biological and physiological conditions of the person. The study also dealt with individual differences between adolescents in different urban and rural areas.
Restorative justice and prevention: Public input
Participants in the session on ‘Restorative justice, and prevention: Public input’, drew a number of challenges facing legislation in several countries. The session also discussed the possibility of developing laws to cope with the new crimes.
Dr. Mohammed Mattar, Professor at the Faculty of Law at Qatar University, called for a distinction in legal settlements between the nature of cases, as there are crimes that are very dangerous to reconcile with the perpetrators such as criminals who exploit minor children. The US laws pursue reconciliation outside the courts in order to reduce the cost of litigation, which amounts to large sums.
The well-established rule in Arab Criminal Procedures Laws is that a public prosecutor has the sole jurisdiction to file a criminal suit. It is also a widely recognised rule that a criminal trial may not be waived, abandoned or suspended by the parties to the criminal action.
It’s not an exaggeration or an overstatement to argue that there is a worldwide crisis in the criminal justice systems with the vast increase in the rate of crimes and the number of criminal cases, and the rising cost of criminal trials. To address these profound challenges, alternative mechanisms have been developed in the criminal justice systems in both common law and civil law regimes, although with various degrees and different forms.
In the United States, the criminal justice system almost totally relies on plea-bargaining or plea agreement.
In countries that are following the civil law tradition, there is somewhat ‘hesitation’ as well as ‘skepticism’ to acknowledge what is called "privatization of the criminal trial”.
A waiver of a criminal trial is considered only in non-serious crimes, minor offences, or specific types of crimes such as financial or economic crimes, illegal banking transactions, customs fraud, tax evasion, drugs and other substances crimes, child delinquency offences, and traffic violations.
doha
The 19th World Congress on Criminology, hosted by Doha, concluded yesterday, with a series of sessions on several topics with the participation of a group of international experts and specialists.
Victims of Crime
The 20th session of the three-day congress discussed the various aspects of crime and its victims. Dr. Lars Holmberg from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark presented the first working paper on the ‘Rights of victims: In the interest of victims or in the interest of the criminal justice system?’ He explained the relationship between the victims and the police stations and issues related to the prevention of their right to communicate with the people who wish to communicate with them while in police stations, as well as the right to the presence of a lawyer during investigations.
He said that appropriate assistance to victims at all stages of legal proceedings is a human right, a legal duty and a moral conduct that must be performed by the competent agencies, especially the police force in all countries, as called for by the United Nations.
The rights of victims are often lost due to inappropriate actions taken by police agencies in some countries or through the mismanagement of the files dealing with victims. Such actions, he noted, could be the outcomes of lack of experience or lack of training. He stressed the importance of enabling victims to obtain justice through official procedures.
Preserving the rights of the victim makes him feel safe and secure and trust the police. It puts heavy responsibility on the agencies in their behavior and professional duty to carry out the tasks assigned to them.
Dr. Daems Tom of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium spoke on ‘Victims of crime and the civilizing process’. He explained in his working paper the concept of victims as persons who have suffered physical or mental harm, psychological woes or deprivation of the enjoyment of their fundamental rights, through acts that violate the criminal laws. He pointed out that a person is considered a victim under this definition regardless of whether the perpetrator was arrested or not, regardless of the family relationship between him and the victim.
The victims of crime must be treated with compassion and respect and be given access to justice mechanisms and prompt justice, as required by legislation in their countries.
Judicial and administrative procedures should also be strengthened to enable the victims to obtain justice through prompt and fair formal or informal proceedings, as well as to inform victims of their rights to seek through such procedures.
He stressed the importance of informing victims of their role, the scope and timing of the proceedings and the manner in which they decide their cases, as well as the opportunity to present their views and take them into account.
Juvenile Delinquency
In the session on ‘juvenile delinquency’, researcher Rafaelle Carolynne of Brazil reviewed a study on alcohol abuse and violent engagement among adolescents.
Explaining why teenagers are taking drugs, she said the most common reasons include exploratory use of adolescents and enjoyment or for the purpose of relief from things such as depression and tension. Repeated uses of drugs may lead to addiction and behavioral and health problems. It can affect the brain, depending on the biological and physiological conditions of the person. The study also dealt with individual differences between adolescents in different urban and rural areas.
Restorative justice and prevention: Public input
Participants in the session on ‘Restorative justice, and prevention: Public input’, drew a number of challenges facing legislation in several countries. The session also discussed the possibility of developing laws to cope with the new crimes.
Dr. Mohammed Mattar, Professor at the Faculty of Law at Qatar University, called for a distinction in legal settlements between the nature of cases, as there are crimes that are very dangerous to reconcile with the perpetrators such as criminals who exploit minor children. The US laws pursue reconciliation outside the courts in order to reduce the cost of litigation, which amounts to large sums.
The well-established rule in Arab Criminal Procedures Laws is that a public prosecutor has the sole jurisdiction to file a criminal suit. It is also a widely recognised rule that a criminal trial may not be waived, abandoned or suspended by the parties to the criminal action.
It’s not an exaggeration or an overstatement to argue that there is a worldwide crisis in the criminal justice systems with the vast increase in the rate of crimes and the number of criminal cases, and the rising cost of criminal trials. To address these profound challenges, alternative mechanisms have been developed in the criminal justice systems in both common law and civil law regimes, although with various degrees and different forms.
In the United States, the criminal justice system almost totally relies on plea-bargaining or plea agreement.
In countries that are following the civil law tradition, there is somewhat ‘hesitation’ as well as ‘skepticism’ to acknowledge what is called "privatization of the criminal trial”.
A waiver of a criminal trial is considered only in non-serious crimes, minor offences, or specific types of crimes such as financial or economic crimes, illegal banking transactions, customs fraud, tax evasion, drugs and other substances crimes, child delinquency offences, and traffic violations.