{"id":371,"date":"2024-09-06T11:02:56","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T11:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/?page_id=371"},"modified":"2024-09-11T08:38:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-11T08:38:59","slug":"pre-trial-investigation-and-criminal-proceedings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/countries\/iceland\/pre-trial-investigation-and-criminal-proceedings\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-trial investigation and criminal proceedings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Assistance available for the victim during the pre-trial investigation and criminal proceedings<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the services available for victims of human trafficking through the coordinated assistance of Bjarkarhl\u00ed\u00f0, victims of human trafficking can receive additional services during the criminal proceedings. These services include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Free legal aid, paid by the government<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Free interpretation services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The police are obliged to nominate a legal rights protector if the case is investigated for certain offences, including THB, if<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • The victim requests a legal rights protector and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • There is a reason to believe that the offence has caused substantial damage to the victim\u2019s physical or mental health as a result of the offence, or if the offence was perpetrated by someone closely related to, or associated with, the victim <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      If interpretation is needed, the police is responsible for contacting an authorised court interpreter or another competent person to provide interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In addition, investigative reporting can be used to avoid re-traumatizing the victim through repetitive interviews. The procedure allows interviews conducted at the police level to be used in court, so the victim does not have to relive the trauma by giving a statement. Investigative reporting is available for both adults and children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      \n
      Child<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>ren<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

      Specific procedures are in place for child victims. The police are obliged to report all cases concerning violence against children to the child protection services. A representative from the child protection services should be present during interviews of child victims of serious crimes, including human trafficking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Interviews with children are conducted at the Barnah\u00fas. The concept of Barnah\u00fas is to avoid subjecting the child to repeated interviews by many agencies in different locations, including the courtroom. The child is interviewed in a special room by an interviewer trained in forensic interviewing. The interview is observed in a different room by a judge, who is formally in charge of the procedure, a social worker from the child protection authorities, the police, the prosecution, the defence lawyer, and the child\u2019s legal guardian and lawyer. The interview is videotaped for multiple purposes, including criminal investigation and court testimony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Since February 2016, all unaccompanied or separated children have been interviewed at the Barnah\u00fas. In 2019, a local branch of Barnah\u00fas was opened in Akureyri. This enables children living outside the capital to have better access to necessary professional services.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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      \n

      Protection of the victim during the criminal proceedings<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Iceland has several protection mechanisms in place to support victims during criminal proceedings. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Recorded hearings in human trafficking cases<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Utilization of video conferencing through mutual legal assistance, if the victim is abroad<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Restraint orders to prevent perpetrators from approaching or contacting the victim. Victims can also be equipped with an emergency button linked to a security company.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        Moreover, victims are entitled to receive a free legal rights protector. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        \n

        Receiving compensation<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

        Victims of human trafficking can seek pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages from perpetrators in criminal proceedings in accordance with Articles 172 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In civil proceedings, victims can file a claim based on the Tort Damages Act, No. 50\/1993.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        The victim can receive compensation for: property damage and personal injury, which include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Lost earnings<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Health expenses <\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Pain and suffering<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Permanent injury, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Loss of earning capacity. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          The amount of compensation is determined based on precedents in similar cases and the rules of the Icelandic tort law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In criminal proceedings, victims can request both unpaid wages and the amount of money they earned from prostitution and were forced to hand to the traffickers. In Icelandic law, by submitting a compensation claim, the victim does not become a party to the criminal proceedings but is qualified as the \u201cclaim holder\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Victims can be granted free legal assistance for the purpose of claiming compensation if they meet the requirements described in paragraphs 47 and 49. Victims can submit evidence in support of the claim. They can also ask the defendant and witnesses questions regarding matters relevant to the claim (Article 176, paragraph 1, of the LCP). The claim should be submitted in writing to the police (during the investigation of the case) or the prosecutor (in general before the indictment is issued). When a crime is reported, the police are obliged to guide the victim on how compensation can be obtained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          A claim for compensation must be submitted no later than two years after the offence was committed. An exception to this two-year rule can be made, for example when the victim is a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Victim can receive state compensation even if the accused was acquitted. State compensation awards are not subject to taxation, but financial assistance that the claimant has received as a result of the damage, for instance payments made by social security, pension payments and insurance benefits, may be deducted from them. If a compensation was awarded by the court, state compensation shall be paid in the amount determined in the court.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Assistance available for the victim during the pre-trial investigation and criminal proceedings In addition to the services available for victims of human trafficking through the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":849,"parent":99,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-371","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/201"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":946,"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/371\/revisions\/946"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/99"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cbss.org\/bsr-trm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}