On Claims Of Victims In Public Prosecution Cases

With the development of the legal system of criminal procedures, the status and litigious role of the victim in a criminal case are gaining extensive attention. In the present-day world, it is a trend of every country in the legislation and justice against crime to correct the imbalance between the victim and the defendant in lawsuit rights. It is in this climate that Criminal Procedure Law 1996 of the People's Republic of China established the status of the victim as a litigant, and expanded the extent to which the victim may participate in the criminal proceedings. Nevertheless, in the real criminal lawsuits of China, the justice is still focused on the defendant whereas the victim's participation in the proceedings and his influence on the outcome of the lawsuit are still very limited. Except for giving a testimony about facts related to the case, the victim barely has a chance to express his claim. He cannot propose his independent claims. All the obligation of the victim is to assist the prosecutor in completing the criminal prosecution against the defendant. Once this obligation is fulfilled, the process and outcome of the whole proceedings appear to have little to do with the victim. The victim's participation in the criminal lawsuit is still limited to his role as a witness. It is an unavoidable issue how to include his reasonable claim in the modern structure of criminal proceedings showing the value of due process in order to truly protect the victim's status as a party in the criminal proceedings and realize effective protection on the victim's rights.Centering round the above issues, this thesis is mainly concerned with the procedural positioning and protection of the victim's claims in criminal proceedings. A reflection is made on the inadequate participation in the litigation and insufficient protection of his rights due to negligence of the victim's claims in the judicial practice. Then, an analysis is conducted about the value and effect of the victim's claims in the prosecution. It is pointed out that the victim should be allowed to participate in the criminal proceedings in a substantial way, modern criminal proceedings should manifest the process and outcome of the positive interaction between the litigious parties, and a system balancing the interests of the defendant, the victim, and the country or the society should be established. Honoring the victim's claims in a prosecution case has positive significance on highlighting the victim's status as a litigant in the lawsuit, protecting human rights in criminal procedures, and facilitating the transition of the lawsuit structure. Then, an elaboration discussion and study is made, focusing on how to integrate the victim's claims in the structure of the criminal lawsuit, and incorporate them into the criminal procedure, and pointing out that the restorative justice system and the criminal reconciliation which is being carried on a pilot basis in various regions in China have orienting function on the procedural positioning and protection of the victim in a prosecution case.