International Journal on Criminology Volume 2, Number 1, Spring 2014 | Page 52

International Journal on Criminology
garantie des victimes d’actes de terrorisme
et autres infractions, or FGTI, funded by a
€3.30 deduction on all property insurance
contracts; see www.fgti.org), ensure that
victims and/or their loved ones are rapidly
compensated by the national community
after the event. 11
A tripartite regime currently applies
in France. 12 For the most serious offenses
(art. 706-3 C.pr.pén.), full and unconditional
compensation is available for recognized
damages. This is the case for death, permanent
disability, or total personal disability
lasting one month or more, human trafficking,
rape, sexual assault, or sexual interference
with a minor under fifteen years of
age. Several less serious offenses may also
result in compensation (art. 706-14 C.pr.
pén.), in certain circumstances (capped or
subsidiary compensation, possibilities of
payment by third-party payers, means testing,
or serious psychological and material
situations). This may apply for theft, fraud,
breach of trust, extortion, and destruction
or damage to property. More questionably
(as there is a risk of FGTI impoverishment,
and it would be preferable to systematize
the “personal accidents guarantee,” as a
“social provision” benefiting the most vulnerable),
victims filing civil suits, not admissible
before the CIVI, can call upon the
Recovery Assistance Service for Victims of
Offenses (Service d’aide au recouvrement
des victimes d’infraction, or SARVI, art.
706-15-1 C.pr.pén.), in order to obtain payment
of damages and interests accorded by
the criminal judge (where the condemned
is insolvent or refuses to pay).
In practical terms, any person 13 who
has suffered harm as a result of voluntary
or involuntary acts of a criminal nature can
file a claim for compensation, with the necessary
supporting documents, to the CIVI
registrar. This must be completed within
three years of the offense or within a year of
the legal decision. The registrar immediately
passes the claim to the FGTI, who must
make a compensation offer to the victim
within two months. Following agreement
and approval, within two months of the
settlement proposal from the CIVI president,
the sums awarded are paid within one
month. Otherwise, the judicial procedure
continues as normal before the CIVI, or even
the trial judge. Like provisions during the
proceedings, the aforementioned jurisdictions
can award additional sums if further
disadvantage is caused (Tisserand 2012). 14
There is great debate concerning the
issue of the victim’s responsibility. However,
11
Accidents at work, road traffic accidents, and hunting accidents are covered by other, equally effective
compensation systems.
12
Victims or their families can also choose the traditional civil tribunal or the criminal tribunal, for example
by direct summons of the accused. These courses of action (subject to specific time limits) are not without
major disadvantages for the victim, who must offer proof of the accused’s acts and of their sufferings in the
first case, and wait for the final decision in the second (in which they are only a witness, unless they launch
civil action, thus placing them back in the above scenario, which is by far the most effective one).
13
All victims (and their families) of French nationality or who are citizens of an EU Member State are eligible
when the offense is committed in France. Similarly, a foreign victim can be eligible if they are residing
legally at the time of the events or of their request. Only a victim with French nationality can obtain compensation
for offenses committed abroad.
14
This case law particularly applies to ongoing domestic violence, where the spouse under attack reacts
by killing the violent partner and where it is not possible to plead legitimate defense. See in particular the
Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in the emblematic “R. v. Lavallée” affair (1990) 1 SCR 852/21022, scc.
lexum.org. See also (in France) the Cour d’Assises du Nord’s acquittal ruling of March 23, 2012 (Guillemin
affair), in Pascale Robert-Diard, prdchroniques.blog.lemonde.fr.
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