Suchergebnisse

The role of the victim in the criminal trial process has evolved considerably in recent decades. On a European level, an important driver has been the EU Directive 2012/29/EU, according to which European countries are legally bound to afford certain rights to crime victims. In the Netherlands the EU Directive has instigated several extensions of existing victims' rights, and in the Code of Criminal Procedure a separate section has been devoted to the victim. The current study specifically addresses one of the victims' rights, i.e. the right to be legally represented. The Dutch government has financially invested in access to and specialization of victim lawyers in order to stimulate the realization of victims' rights, specifically for victims of severe crimes and sex offences. The goal of the current study was to investigate the added value of victim lawyers and the extent to which they contribute to fulfilment of victims' rights in the criminal law process. A literature study was conducted to examine legislation pertaining to victims' rights; a questionnaire study was conducted to investigate the perspective of victim lawyers (n=148); and interviews were conducted to examine the perspective of the police, Victim Support, Public Prosecuting Service, and criminal courts (n=17). The results show that victim lawyers were important to the realization of victims' rights. They were considered most necessary with respect to the right to claim compensation and with respect to the right to get access to the case file. They were also required because victims' rights have not yet been smoothly implemented into legal practice. In addition, victim lawyers' presence in the courtroom was considered important as it contributed to victims experiencing that they were taken seriously. It has been concluded that the support of victim lawyers is an important contribution to victim participation in criminal procedures.

Modern warfare presents an array of legalistic overtones that require the presence and participation of attorneys of exceptional courage and breadth of expertise in demanding and austere conditions. Military lawyers today must confront complex missions and competing operational demands in representing the needs of operational commanders. The legal dimension of conflict has at times overshadowed the armed struggle between adversaries as the nature of conflict itself has changed. The overall mission will often be intertwined with political, legal, and strategic imperatives that cannot accomplished in a legal vacuum or by undermining the threads of legality that bind diverse aspects of a complex operation together.

What role do lawyers, as lawyers, play in the creation, development, and maintenance of the international legal order? This is an oddly underexplored question. It has become increasingly popular to look at the role various non-state actors--nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), grassroots activists, scientists, insurgent groups, among many others--play in the shaping of international law. It has also become common to talk in terms of the "disaggregated state," and of how various substate actors--central bankers, regulators, judges, and military personnel--shape international law and policy through their interactions with each other. Nor have international lawyers ever been particularly shy about their importance to international law. Oscar Schacter famously described "the professional community of international lawyers . though dispersed throughout the world and engaged in diverse occupations" as "a kind of invisible college dedicated to a common intellectual enterprise." Martti Koskenniemi has written that "[w]ithout international lawyers, there would have been no international law." The Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) even recognizes the "teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law." And yet, few have focused on the specific and unique role lawyers might play as state, non-state, and substate actors in the international system.