Victims will be given a say in sentences, says minister

Junior justice minister Fred Teeven has brushed aside protests from senior lawyers about his plans to give victims more rights in court cases.

Teeven’s plans to give victims more rights in court, including input into sentencing, will involve them having access to police files on the defendant. This, say senior legal officials, is not only dangerous but ‘undermines the foundations of our justice system’.

A trial is meant to establish the truth of what happens and giving the victim a greater role, including a say in sentencing, will also increase frustration if that recommendation is not carried out, Germ Kemper told the Parool at the weekend.

Teeven said he doubts this will be the case. In addition, giving victims a greater role in court will help them process the trauma of the crime, he said. Nor is he concerned about emotional eruptions. ‘What is wrong with emotions?’ he told television show Buitenhof.

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