Legal Protection of Victims of Hate Crimes with Special Reference to Victims’ Rights According to the European Convention and the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights

Igrački, Jasmina and Dečković, Samra and Alić, Maida B. (2025) Legal Protection of Victims of Hate Crimes with Special Reference to Victims’ Rights According to the European Convention and the Practice of the European Court of Human Rights. Victimology, 12 (4). pp. 632-644. ISSN 2782-277X

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Abstract

Contemporary law has the intention of shaping a humane, democratic society that acts in accordance with the highest international standards in respect of human rights. Help, support and legal protection of victims must be systematically organized and come from all segments of society. The responsibility of states to help victims in the European legal area stems primarily from the ECHR, considering the positive obligation of member states to ensure the effective implementation of the rights and freedoms regulated by it. There are no specifi c provisions in the ECHR dealing with the rights of victims, however, the European Court of Human Rights has created signifi cant practice that has strengthened the position of the victim guaranteed by the acts of the Council of Europe. In the paper, the authors will give a special review of the legal protection of victims of hate crimes as criminal acts motivated by prejudices based on the subjective characteristics of individuals, racist motives, xenophobia, religious intolerance or some other discriminatory basis, whose victims are the target of attacks only because of their real or assumed association with a group that has certain characteristics. These are crimes that not only have a devastating effect on the basic rights and freedoms of citizens, but also threaten the safety of individuals and groups who are their victims. Given that such acts represent a serious threat to democratic values, social stability and peace, an attack on the basic principles of equality and human dignity protected by all relevant universal and regional documents, the aim of this paper is to point out that preventing and fi ghting hate crimes requires a comprehensive approach, i. e. a coherent strategy and a wide set of legal and political measures that take into account specifi c situations and wider contexts.

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