Victim and victims' rights in criminal procedure

In recent years, important steps have been taken to strengthen the rights of victims, who are the ignored subject of criminal procedure, and to increase the effectiveness of services provided to victims. The classical criminal law understanding, which has focused on the rights of suspects and defendants for many years, is replaced by a modern understanding of criminal law that includes restorative justice practices in favor of victims. First of all, the definition of the victim was included in the study, and the statue of victim in international and national legislation was discussed. In the second part, victim rights in criminal codes in Turkey , compensation systems and hearings are discussed. In the last section, the legal basis and functioning of the support services offered to victims are explained and a comparison was made between the rights of victims stipulated in international legislation, especially the Directive that sets the Minimum Standards for the Rights, Support and Protection of Victims of Crime, numbered 2012/29, and the victim rights in our legislation.