Victim's rights and opportunities in criminal procedure

Victim's rights and opportunities in criminal proceedings is undoubtedly a relevant subject that requires copious amounts of attention because of the changing attitude towards the victim in the international and national context and the significance of the victim itself in criminal proceedings. However, legal doctrine lacks a comprehensive and consistent analysis of the victim's rights and opportunities, and is more focused on other participants of criminal proceedings. The aim of the thesis was to analyze in detail the concept of the victim, the attainment of the victim status, the main rights of the victim that are granted by the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania, the realization of the main rights of the victim, their development, and the main problems of the above-mentioned aspects. Case law encounters problems with the concept of a victim and the attainment of the victim status, but amendments of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania and judicial interpretations are helping to solve them. The purpose of the victim's rights granted by the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Republic of Lithuania is to enable him to participate in criminal proceedings as an independent, equal participant of criminal proceedings, to defend its lawful interests and violated rights effectively, but the accomplishment of this purpose depends both on the victims themselves and the actions of the other participants of criminal proceedings. It is commendable that the list of the victim’s rights in the criminal proceedings is being extended and the victim's interests are attracting more and more attention