Victims and Corporations. Legal Challenges and Empirical Findings

The book is the final publication of the EU-funded project “Victims and Corporations. Implementation of Directive 2012/29/EU for victims of corporate crimes and corporate violence” (www.victimsandcorporations.eu). European Union Directive 2012/29/UE introduces a ‘system’ of minimum standards on the rights, support and protection for victims of crimes, and their participation to criminal proceedings, without prejudice to the rights of the offender. Within the scope of the Directive and its definition of ‘victim’, though, there is a relevant group of victims who have not yet received enough consideration, and whose access to justice may be at stake. It is the victims of corporate crimes, and particularly of corporate violence, meaning those criminal offences committed by corporations in the course of their legitimate activities, which result in harms to natural persons’ health, integrity, or life. Within the vast area of corporate crime, the project and this publication focus on three main strands of victimisation: environmental crime, food safety violations and offences in the pharmaceutical industry with the aim to explore intersections and potential synergies between Directive 2012/29/EU and the existing body of EU legal tools in these three sectors. The publication also includes an overview of the current ‘state of the art’ with respect to the general issue of victims’ rights, support and protection in light of the EU Directive; a comparison with the principles emerging from the ECtHR case law and the broader field of international law; a study of the existing criminological and victimological literature on corporate crime and corporate violence, its harms, and its victims, integrated with the results of the empirical research which was part of the Project; an analytical discussion of said results with respect to the specific issues related to access to justice by victims of corporate violence and to support needs of said victims; a discussion of the possible benefits of integrating a restorative justice approach in dealing with corporate violence crimes. The book is completed with a set of recommendations for national lawmakers and policymakers.