Rights of victims of transnational crimes and mechanisms for their compensation

Abstract

Victims of transnational crimes have a set of rights referred to in international conventions. Perhaps the most important of these rights is the right to equal access to justice, the right to satisfaction, the guarantee of non-repetition, and the right to access relevant information related to violations and reparation mechanisms. There are three ways through which a victim of a transnational crime can obtain compensation, which is either through national civil procedures, through a lawsuit filed before civil courts, or through national criminal procedures, where some countries allow a claim for compensation while filing a criminal lawsuit for a transnational crime. National Victims Compensation Funds also play an important role in compensating victims of transnational crimes. Countries that have not yet enacted laws guaranteeing victims of transnational crimes should move quickly in this direction due to the continuous increase in the number and diversity of transnational crimes.