Compensating the Victims of Criminal Offences: Should Bangladesh Follow the Trail of India?

For any criminal act, without any doubt, it is the victims who suffer the cruelest of consequences. Victims of criminal offenses often suffer harms of a physical, mental, and social nature and, at times, even the loss of life. No form of compensation can make up for the harm done to the victim of a criminal act. However, reparation can sometimes make it easier for those victimized to move on from the tragic incident. For example, in cases of bodily harm, compensation can undoubtedly assist that person in gaining a head start in financial situations. Unfortunately, in our country, obtaining compensation is quite a complex process. Furthermore, more often than not, the compensation money is insignificant in comparison to the victim’s injuries. Studies have revealed many legal loopholes that prevent the nation’s present laws from adequately compensating the victims of criminal acts. While acknowledging the sizable gap in the laws regarding this matter, in 2006, the Bangladesh Law Commission put forward a Crime Victims Compensation Act that, on paper, has said to adequately compensate victims who suffered from specified criminal acts, including rape and sexual assault. Not only this but this right to compensation would have been deemed a guaranteed right. However, despite the passage of 18 years, this law is yet to be implemented.

When compensating victims of criminal offenses, our neighboring country, India, may have devised the most effective formula with its Victim Compensation Scheme. In India, compensation for victims of criminal offenses was originally the responsibility of Section 357 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. However, the Indian Law Commission later noted that the government had not implemented the recommendations to compensate victims of criminal offenses. To give Section 357 a more efficient use, a new provision of law came into existence known as Section 357A or the Victim Compensation Scheme in 2009. Before the introduction of Section 357A, the state owed little to no duty to the victim, and compensation could only be recovered after the accused was convicted.

Section 357A brought a revolutionary change in the concept of victim compensation. With the emergence of the new law, victims can now request additional compensation if they are dissatisfied with what has already been awarded. More significantly, if the victim of a criminal incident is identified, but the perpetrator cannot be located or identified, the victim can apply to the state for compensation, even without a court trial. The Victim Compensation Scheme has stabilized the victim reparations and compensation system as a whole.

At a time when criminal offenses are on an upward trajectory including heinous offences like rape and sexual assaults, people from all walks of this nation have no other option but to demand a functioning victim compensation mechanism. It is the opinion of the author that in this dire situation, where Bangladesh has been unable to establish a functioning mechanism for victim compensation for the past 18 years, it may follow the path of the neighboring nation, India, to compensate the victims of criminal offenses appropriately.

Rashikur Rahman2 Posts

Rashikur Rahman is a final-year student at North South University with an enthusiasm for advocacy and legal research. As an ardent mooter, he has sharpened his skills in public speaking and legal writing. He is actively engaged in research initiatives and had the privilege of contributing at the development of National Report of Bangladesh for 4th Cycle of Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

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