Expanding Participation: Victims as Agents of Accountability in the Criminal Justice Process

Abstract

This paper focuses on victims’ procedural rights to examine the different forms of victim participation, and introduces an additional form of participation based on accountability. The victim’s right to review in both England and Wales and the United States will be used to illustrate this form of participation, which can be divided into substantive and procedural forms of accountability. It will also explore its limits in achieving accountability and analyse its effects on the principles of criminal justice, including finality, certainty, independence, and the separation of powers.

Keywords: Victim, participation, review, prosecutors, accountability

JEL Classification: K10, K14, K19, K23