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Refugia Information For Voters Dispatch: Vote AGAINST "Rights For Crime Victims Act"
Summary:
Crime victims are also allowed to seek compensation from the convicted - and those convicted individuals unable to give the required compensation must be put on probation to find a job so they can pay what is required. The draft finishes off by stating victims have the right to be referred to services that can give them necessary support.
Opinion:
The resolution, while well-intentioned and serviceable in most parts, fails in a few key areas. The first part is its definition of "a crime victim" as shown here.
As explained by Junitaki-cho, the phrase "prima facie" has two distinct definitions - one meaning the prosecution has enough evidence to start a trial, the other one being the prosecution has to provide enough evidence to prove their case to the point wherein it will be ruled in their favor (unless the defense can submit contradicting evidence).
The resolution does little to differentiate between the two. This means that nations can easily avoid giving rights towards victims who do not have enough evidence to establish themselves as a victim under the second, more heavier of definition of prima facie - because in such a case, the victim's evidence wouldn't be prima facie and therefore the victim would not be seen as a "crime victim" in the eyes of the resolution.
The proposal also has a highly problematic clause later on, as follows:
This clause is extensively harmful. By allowing this probation, anyone unable to pay compensation - whether they be drug dealers, murderers, etc. - would be set free on probation to find a job. The resolution has no regulation on what probation is, or when the courts can reverse it, or how long probation lasts. It's just a blanket rule that allows people to, after being convicted of a crime, go back into the world to commit more crime.
There's also the question of survival and going through the justice system itself. What if a convicted individual cannot find a job with enough of a livable wage to both survive and pay off their debt? What about the fact that this allows a convicted individual to live their lives in a vastly more freer way than other convicted people who can pay compensation? This clause needs its own resolution to deal with its mandate in a more proper manner. As-is, its broadness allows for extensively negative consequences.
The resolution also has a couple of writing issues, like the fact that Clause 2a. gives a victim the right to be informed of their right to be informed of their rights - which at a bit confusing.
Recommendation: For all of these reasons, the, the Refugi Office of World Assembly Affairs therefore recommends a vote against "Rights For Crime Victims Act".