범죄피해자 진술권의 성격 및 내용에 관한 연구

The Characteristic and the Content of the Crime Victims’ Right for the Statement

Until recent times, the crime victims have been considered as objects of the victim study in the main field of criminal law or penal law. From 2000year, in Korea, the study on the crime victims has started to pay attention on the problem related with legal position and their rights in the criminal procedure, going beyond the economic and social consideration for the crime victims. So, the crime victims begin to emerge as subjects in the main field of criminal law. Especially, the crime victims’ right for the statement is one of the most crucial factors for their participation in the criminal procedure. The crime victims could appeal to the criminal court about their whole physical and mental damage caused by the crime. Furthermore, the crime victims’ right for the statement includes even the right for providing their opinion to the court in sentencing the punishment of the criminal offenders. However, though Korea’s constitution law guarantees widely the crime victims’ right for the statement, Korea’s criminal procedure law limits this right. Therefore, this criminal procedure needs to be reformed like Japan’s and Unites States’ ones. In conclusion, the crime victims’ right for the statement is the most essential right for preventing the victims’ second damage as well as for rehabilitating the criminal offender. This system of the right is more meaningful in providing the motive to make the citizens have the trust in the criminal law system.