FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN ROMANIA Elena Lazăr Trainer 6 November 2017 Training in Bulgaria Project Strengthening lawyers legal knowledge and cooperation with prosecutors and judges, to protect victims of human trafficking rights in the judicial proceedings (JUST/2015/JTRA/AG/EJTR/8686) Financed by the Justice Programme of the European Union

Content I. Initiation of civil action in criminal proceedings II. Settlement of civil actions in civil courts III. Financial compensation granted by the government to victims of certain crimes

I. Initiation of civil action in criminal proceedings Applicable law: Article 19 - 26 CCP The civil action is undertaken by victims or by their successors, who become a civil party against the defendant and, as applicable, against the party with civil liability and seeks to establish the civil liability in tort of the persons liable under the civil law for damages caused by having committed an act that is the subject matter of criminal action.

Freezing orders for repairing damages caused by crime The freezing orders issued during the criminal proceedings represent a guarantee that the defendant is solvent when the final judgement of the criminal case is passed. According to Article 249 of the CCP, the preliminary chamber judge or the court, officio or upon request by the prosecutor, during preliminary chamber procedure or throughout the trial, may order asset freezing by order or, as the case may be, by a reasoned court resolution, in order to avoid concealment, destruction, disposal or dissipation of the assets that may be subject to special or extended confiscation or that may serve to secure the payment of a fine or court fees or of damages caused by the crime. According to Article 397 (5) of the CCP, when the court leaves the civil action unsettled in compliance with the provisions of Article 25 (5), the asset freezing order is maintained. These measures shall terminate as such if the victim does not file an action in a civil court within 30 days from the court ruling becoming final.

II Settlement of civil actions in civil courts Applicable law - Article 27-28 CCP A civil action is not filed in the criminal trial:; The criminal court does not settle the civil action; The stay of the criminal trial; The losses are not entirely covered

III Financial compensation granted by the government to victims of certain crimes This type of compensation is regulated in detail in Chapter 5 of Law no. 211/2014 instating certain measures for the protection of victims of crime. Financial compensation is granted on request to the following categories of victims, as per Article 21 of this special law: victims of attempted murder, or first degree murder, listed under Articles 188 and 189 of the Criminal Code, victims of bodily harm, provided by Article 194 of the Criminal Code, victims of a crime committed with intent that resulted in bodily harm of the victim, rape, sexual intercourse with a juvenile and sexual assault, provided by Articles 218 - 220 of the Criminal Code, trafficking in human beings and underage persons, provided by Articles 210 and 211 of the Criminal Code, terrorism, as well as any other crime committed with intent and violence;

spouse, children and dependants of persons deceased as a result of the crimes provided at Paragraph (1). Thus, the financial compensation is only granted to the victim if he/she reported the crime to the criminal investigation agencies within 60 de days from the date of the crime. In the case of a spouse, children or persons deceased as a result of crimes provided by Article 21 (1), the 60 days deadline shall be calculated from the date when the victim became aware of the crime; when it was physically or psychically incapable for the victim to report the crime, the 60 deadline shall be calculated from the cessation of the incapacity state.

Where the perpetrator is known, financial compensation may be granted to the victim if the following conditions are met: the victim submitted the claim for financial compensation within one year, thus: from the date of the final judgement of the criminal court sentencing or acquitting the defendant, in certain cases, or granting civil compensation or the termination of the criminal trial, in certain cases; from the date when the prosecutor dropped the charges, in certain cases; the victim filed a civil action in the criminal proceedings, except when the charges were dropped on the grounds of Article 315 (1) a) CCP; the perpetrator is insolvent or absconding; the victim did not obtain full reparations for the losses from an insurer.

Where the perpetrator is unknown, the victim may make a claim for financial compensation within 3 years form the crime, if the requirements of Article 24 (1) d) are met. When the victim is underage and his/her legal representative did not make a claim for financial compensation within the deadlines provided in Article 24 or 25 of the Law, as applicable, these deadlines run date when the victim turned 18.

The types of losses for which financial compensations may be claimed are provided in Article 27 of the Law, namely: in the case of victims provided in Article 21 (1) a) - the person subject to the crime; hospitalization and other categories of medical costs incurred by the victim; losses resulting from the destruction, degradation or rendering useless of the victim’s assets or loss of possession of assets as a result of the crime; earnings of which the victim is deprived as a result of the crime; in the case of victims provided in Article 21 (1) b) - spouse, children and dependants of persons deceased as a result of crime: funeral costs; support that the victim is deprived of as a result of the crime.

The victim may apply with the Crime Injuries Compensation Board for an advance on the financial compensation. Such advance payment may be granted if the victim is in financial difficulty, within the limit of 10 national minimum gross base wages for the year in which the victim requested the advance payment. The financial compensation claim shall be submitted to the County Court of geographic jurisdiction in the area where the victim resides. The claim shall be settled by two judges of the Crime Injuries Compensation Board set up in each County Court Both the financial compensation and the advance payment claim shall be dealt with in chambers, by summoning the victim and with the mandatory participation of the prosecutor.

Thank you for your attention! This publication has been produced with the financial support of the Justice Programme of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the author and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission