INDEX

• Implementation
• National Schemes on Compensation

IMPLEMENTATION

No information has been communicated to the European Commission.

NATIONAL SCHEMES ON COMPENSATION

The French authorities are of the opinion that their domestic law complies with this provision.

The victims of intentional violent offences enjoy a special status and are eligible for national solidarity as follows.

To ensure that certain victims are compensated for personal injuries caused by criminal acts, Act No 77-5 of 3 January 1977 established Victims Compensation Commissions (CIVI). The restrictive conditions laid down at the time have been relaxed in stages by Acts No 81-82 of 2 February 1981, No 83-608 of 8 July 1983, No 90-589 of 6 July 1990 and No 2000-516 of 15 June 2000.

The victims of facts, whether or not committed deliberately, that constitute criminal offences have access to a self-contained compensation scheme in relation to a whole series of offences. Applications for compensation do not have to be made in the course of criminal proceedings and it is not necessary for the offender to be identified.

There are two compensation schemes:

• For the victims of serious offences against the person, full compensation is payable where the offence:
  - results in death, permanent disability or total disability for work for one month or more;
  - consists of rape, sexual aggression, trafficking in human beings or sexual offences against a minor aged less than 15.
• For the victims of offences against the person entailing total inability to work for less than one month and the victims of offences against property (theft, fraud, embezzlement, extortion, destruction, degradation or deterioration of property), compensation is subject to means related maximum amounts.

The application to the CIVI must be made within three years from the date of the offence or one year following the final judgment in criminal proceedings. The legislation keeps the formal requirements to a minimum. All the victim must do is present an application for compensation, or send it by registered letter, to the court registry with documentary evidence of the damage suffered. There is no obligation to be represented by a lawyer.

The benefits set by the CIVI are paid by the Fonds de Garantie des victimes des actes de Terrorisme et d'autres Infractions (FGTI), which can proceed for reimbursement against the offender. It is also financed by a contribution charged on property insurance premiums and contracts (3.5% in 2005).

In 2004, 16 877 applications were processed by the FGTI. The benefits paid in 2004 totalled €209 541 638.

Victims of terrorism enjoy special treatment, being compensated direct by the FGTI.

Section 9 of the Anti-terrorism Act (No 86-1020 of 9 September 1986), as amended by Act No 87-1060 of 30 December 1987, contains provisions concerning victims. They were amplified by section 26 of the Social Security and Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act (No 90-86 of 23 January 1990), which extends eligibility for the Military Invalidity and War Victims Code to victims of terrorism.

In 2004 the FGTI received applications from 133 terrorism victims; the benefits paid in 2004 totalled €2 644 149.

Under the Justice (Guidance and Programming) Act of 9 September 2002, victims of the most serious crimes (murder, torture, acts of barbarism, violence against minors and vulnerable people causing death or infirmity, rape and aggravated rape) are fully entitled to legal aid with no resources conditions. Costs of these victims' defence, including lawyers' fees, are fully covered by the state.