ABSTRACT
The Framework Decision of the European Union on the Standing of Victims in Criminal proceedings of 2001 lays down minimum standards for treatment of crime victims. This Decision has made mandatory for EU member states basic principles of justice for victims developed over the past 20 years by the international community. The new EU standards build on earlier international codification efforts of the United Nations (GA Declaration of 1985) and the Council of Europe (Recommendation 1985/11). The EU Framework Decision is unique by making a comprehensive set of victim-friendly principles of justice legally binding for its 27 member states.
