The EU Court of Justice ruled on 16 July in Case C-129/19 (see EUROPE 12487/26) that Member States must compensate all victims of violent intentional crime. While this compensation is not required to cover the full reparation of damages, it should not be symbolic, the judges say.
The Italian Court of Cassation - asked to rule on the case of Mrs BV, a victim of sexual violence in Italy who was not able to receive compensation because her attackers had fled - asked the EU Court of Justice whether or not Directive 2004/80/EC concerning compensation for crime victims obliges each Member State to establish a national compensation scheme applicable only to victims in cross-border situations. The court also considered whether the 4,800-euro package provided for by Italy to compensate victims of sexual assault was “fair and appropriate” within the meaning of that directive.
According to the European judges, Directive 2004/80 requires Member States to have a compensation scheme covering all victims of violent intentional crimes committed on their territory, whether or not they are in a cross-border situation. The same applies to the right to “fair and appropriate” compensation. Thus, if the conditions for establishing State liability for damage caused to individuals by breaches of EU law are met, an individual, whether or not in a cross-border situation, has a right to compensation for damage caused by a State’s breach of its obligation under the directive.
In the absence of an indication as to the amount of “fair and appropriate” compensation in the Directive, States have a margin of discretion. However, the compensation must be appropriate in light of the victim’s suffering. In the Court’s view, a lump sum compensation may be considered “fair and appropriate” if the compensation scale is sufficiently detailed so as to avoid a situation where the compensation is manifestly insufficient given the circumstances of a particular case.
See the judgment: https://bit.ly/2CCxWzM (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)