Victims' rights in Europe: Do cross-border victims fit within the current concepts and structures?

This chapter offers an analysis of the development, strengths, and shortcomings of the European criminal law framework concerning cross-border victims, including a preview of the proposal for an amendment of the European Union Victim Rights Directive. The authors note that the disadvantaged position of cross-border victims prompted legislative action within the EU and provide a bird's eye view of developments in international criminal law. This helps to substantiate the thesis that in the past decade, an increasing number of cases involving victims of international crimes beyond the EU's borders have been investigated and prosecuted within the domestic courts of EU states. This chapter also describes the evolution and implementation of cross-border victim rights provisions in the EU and international legal framework, helping to answer – in the final part of the chapter – the question of whether cross-border victims fit within the current concepts and structures of EU and international victim instruments, and whether changes are warranted, while taking into account possible shortcomings of the relevant legal framework.