5 Compensation for victims of crime
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9062/09
COM(09) 170
+ ADD 1
| Commission Report on the application of Council Directive 2004/80/EC relating to compensation to crime victims
Commission Staff Working Document: accompanying document to the Report on the application of Council Directive 2004/80/EC relating to compensation to crime victims
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 20 April 2009
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| Deposited in Parliament | 29 April 2009
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| Department | Justice |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 13 June 2009
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | Not planned
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information awaited
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Background
5.1 Article 19 of Council Directive 2004/80/EC on compensation
to crime victims requires the Commission to present to the European
Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee
a report on the application of the Directive by 1 January 2009.
5.2 The purpose of the Directive is to set up a system
for cooperation to facilitate cross-border access to compensation
for victims of crime. The system operates on the basis of existing
national schemes for compensation for victims of crime that has
been committed in the respective territories of the Member States.
The Directive provides that, where a "violent intentional
crime" has been committed in a Member State other than the
Member State where the victim is resident, the victim has the
right to submit an application for compensation to the relevant
authority in the Member State where he or she is resident. This
application is then transmitted to the relevant authority in the
Member State in which the crime was committed. It is this latter
authority which retains the responsibility for paying compensation
under its national procedures.
5.3 The Commission requested an external study to
review the application of the Directive. The main objective of
the study was to assess the current stage of implementation of
the Directive in all Member States. Central Contact Points appointed
by Member States also discussed the application of the Directive
in a meeting in October 2008, which was organised within the framework
of the European judicial network in Civil and Commercial Matters.
5.4 The Commission's report, based on the study,
concludes that despite insufficient data there appears to be a
substantial degree of compliance with the Directive across Member
States. However, it also finds that claimants were much less positive
than authorities were about the process of applying for compensation.
It highlights that many find the process of applying complicated
and time-consuming and consider that language barriers —
and communication in general — constitute a major obstacle.
5.5 To improve the functioning of the Directive the
Commission's report recommends that Member States:
- Seek to collect data on the
application of the Directive in order to be able to better assess
the effectiveness of the process.
- Ensure — as far as possible — that
more information on the Directive and on national compensation
schemes is provided to citizens since too few potential claimants
seem to be aware of their rights.
- Ensure that the language requirements of the
Directive are respected in order to ensure the most efficient
processes for claimants.
- Ensure clarity and transparency in key elements
of national compensation schemes, particularly which offences
are included in the schemes and which injuries are covered by
them.
5.6 The Commission concludes that the implementation
of the Directive can be improved on the basis of the current provisions
and therefore does not propose amendments to the Directive itself.
But it states that it "will use its powers under the Treaty
to urge the Member States to complete the possible deficient measures"
— in other words bring infringement proceedings if necessary.
The Minister's Explanatory Memorandum of 13 May
5.7 The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (CICS)
falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice. The
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice
(Lord Bach) states in his Explanatory Memorandum of 13 May that
the United Kingdom has well established criminal injuries compensation
schemes which fully meet the requirement of the Directive to provide
"fair and appropriate compensation". The 2008 Scheme
(Great Britain) and the 2009 Scheme (Northern Ireland) provide
payment at public expense to any person (of any nationality or
domicile) who has sustained a criminal injury as a result of a
crime of violence within Great Britain and Northern Ireland respectively.
The Minister describes the Great Britain scheme as always having
been "in the forefront of compensation for victims of violent
crime around the world and remains the most generous scheme in
Europe".
5.8 The Victims of Violent Intentional Crime (Arrangements
for Compensation) (European Communities) Regulations 2005 transpose
the Directive into domestic law and came into effect on 1 January
2006. In order to comply with the Directive and the Regulations,
the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) set up the
EU Compensation Assistance Team (EUCAT) on 4 January 2006 to help
potential applicants gain access to information about compensation
in the country in which they were injured. In particular, the
Minister says, EUCAT can help with the following: access to information
about the system of compensation in the country where the injury
occurred; providing the appropriate application form; providing
guidance on any supporting documentation that an applicant might
have to supply; forwarding the completed application to the relevant
authority in the EU country where the injury occurred; and providing
advice on how to respond to requests for further information.
In order for EUCAT to assist, however, the following criteria
must be met: the injuries must have occurred on or after 1 July
2005; the injuries must have occurred in an EU country other than
the UK; the victim must be resident in the UK; and the injuries
must have been sustained as a result of a crime of violence. Requests
for information and application forms transmitted to CICA should
normally be expressed in English. But in order to comply with
Article 11 of the Directive, requests for information or application
forms can also be accepted in French and German.
5.9 The Minister comments that, to date, EUCAT has
forwarded around 140 applications to other EU countries operating
a compensation scheme.[21]
Cooperation between Member States is generally good however language
difficulties and time taken to translate documents can cause delays.
CICA does not, however, keep records on applicants' nationality
and cannot therefore identify which applications were submitted
by cross-border applicants.
5.10 In conclusion the Minister states that CICA
has carefully considered the study and subsequent report by the
Commission. How information on cross-border applications is compiled
in the future will be re-considered in light of it. But in response
to the study's conclusion that the UK has not fully complied with
the Directive, the Minister states that this conclusion appears
to be based on a number of inaccuracies. The main inaccuracies
relate to the time eligibility for criminal injuries compensation
to be paid; implementation of Articles regarding assistance with
applications and the transmission of documentation to the appropriate
authorities; and review and appeal processes. CICA has recently
written to the Commission in relation to these inaccuracies, stating
that they do not properly reflect the response provided to the
authors of the study by CICA. A response has not yet been received.
The Minister concludes that he is "confident that the UK
is fully compliant and has dealt with applications received speedily
and without delay".
Conclusion
5.11 We thank the Minister for his Explanatory
Memorandum of 13 May.
5.12 We note that the study commissioned by the
Commission reported that the UK was not fully compliant with Directive
2004/80/EC on compensation to crime victims, but that the Minister
states that the UK is fully compliant and the study's conclusion
is based on a number of inaccuracies, which have been reported
by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to the Commission
(CICA).
5.13 We would be grateful for sight of the study
on the implementation of the Directive.
5.14 We would also be grateful to know the Commission's
response to CICA, and whether the Commission reassesses the conclusion
in the study that the UK is not fully compliant with the Directive.
5.15 In the meantime, we keep the Commission's
report under scrutiny.
21 This number is many times higher than reported by
other Member States - see paragraph 3.3 of the Commission's report. Back
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