Assistance for victims of criminal offences

On 14 January 2021, the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania has adopted the Law on Assistance for Victims of Criminal Offences of the Republic of Lithuania No XIV-169, which regulates the provision of assistance for victims of criminal offences. 

The law transposed to the national law the provisions of the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims and the Directive (EU) 2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on combating terrorism, and the Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012 establishing minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and created the assumptions for creation of clear and fluent system of assistance for victims of criminal offences in the Republic of Lithuania. 

The intended purpose of the law is to ensure that natural entities, who are victims of criminal offences committed within the territory of the European Union, before the criminal process, during it, and, if necessary, afterwards, and in all cases when the criminal process is not initiated, or the victims are victims of criminal offences committed outside the territory of the European Union, when the criminal process takes place within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, while being within the territory of the Republic of Lithuania, would receive the assistance (information, consultation and (or) services), with regard to their individual needs, the needs caused by the committed criminal offence and the nature of the criminal offence. 

The provisions of the law will be applied to all victims, without distinguishing them according to the types of crimes. The assistance for victims defined in the law will be provided free of charge and regardless of whether or not the victim or their legal representative has submitted a competent State or municipal institution with a claim, declaration or statement on criminal offence. 

Implementation of the Law on Assistance for Victims of Criminal Offences

Implementing regulations regulating the field of assistance for victims of criminal offences: 
1. Description of procedure of accreditation of assistance provided by services of assistance for victims of criminal offences

Description of procedure of accreditation of assistance provided by services of assistance for victims of criminal offences stipulates the institution’s, which intends to provide accredited assistance for victims of criminal offences, procedure for the application to provide accredited assistance and the procedure of submission of applications and documents required in order to request for the right to provide accredited assistance, the procedure of accreditation of assistance provided by services providing assistance for victims of criminal offences, the granting of right to provide accredited assistance, its suspension, renewal, annulment procedures. 

The objective of accreditation of assistance for victims of criminal offences is to ensure the provision of high quality, accessible and effective assistance for victims of any criminal offences, with regard to their individual needs and personal qualities.  

The right to provide accredited assistance may be granted to a legal entity established in the Republic of Lithuania or another Member State of the European Union or another State of the European Economic Area or another organization, their subdivision, which intends to provide accredited assistance and meets the following requirements:
•    has the premises that meet the requirements of work and fire safety, premises have a closed premise, where an interested person could receive confidential consultation provided by a specialist (lawyer, psychologist, social worker, etc.);
•    ensures the possibility to provide victims with remote consultations (by telephone, e-mail and (or) other communication means), for this purpose, it has mobile network measures, hardware and software and the staff that is able to use these measures and equipment; 
•    employees of the institution that intends to provide accredited assistance that work directly with victims have higher education in the field of social sciences or no less than one year employment experience in the field of provision of assistance to victims; 
•    ensures the performance of all functions provided in article 10(4) of the Law on assistance for

Victims of Criminal Offences, for this purpose, it has approved descriptions of provided services, which indicate human and material resources for the provision of each service. 

The assistance service, having received the details of the victim from the first contact institution or from the person, who has directly contacted the assistance service, will organize and provide the assistance in the Republic of Lithuania with regard to the individual needs of the victim and the needs caused by the criminal offence: will provide the information on the rights of the victim and the institutions that may guarantee them, will provide emotional and (or) psychological assistance or will organize it, if necessary, will organize temporary accommodation, will provide information on institutions and organizations providing social services, services provided by health care facilities and other assistance. 

The institution accrediting the assistance for victims of criminal offences provided by institutions is the Department of Supervision of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (hereinafter referred to as the Department of Supervision of Social Services). 
The Department of Supervision of Social Services will perform the accreditation procedure within no longer than 30 calendar days. The right to provide accredited assistance will be granted for 3 years. 

The assistance service, having received the details of the victim from the first contact institution or from the person, who has directly contacted the assistance service, will organize and provide the assistance in the Republic of Lithuania with regard to the individual needs of the victim and the needs caused by the criminal offence: will provide the information on the rights of the victim and the institutions that may guarantee them, will provide emotional and (or) psychological assistance or will organize it, if necessary, will organize temporary accommodation, will provide information on institutions and organizations providing social services, services provided by health care facilities and other assistance.

The institution accrediting the assistance for victims of criminal offences provided by institutions: the Department of Supervision of Social Services will perform the procedure of accreditation within a period no longer than 30 calendar days. The right to provide accredited assistance will be granted for 3 years. 

2. Description of procedure of determination of the need for funds from the State budget for the accredited assistance provided for victims of criminal offences, planning, distribution, transfer, use of these funds, reporting on the used funds

Description of procedure of determination of the need for funds from the State budget for the accredited assistance provided for victims of criminal offences, planning, distribution, transfer, use of these funds, reporting on the used funds provides that the measure is administered by the Department of Supervision of Social Services: it collects and submits the Ministry of Social Security and Labour with the information on the number of services that will provide accredited assistance, the envisaged number of beneficiaries of accredited assistance therein; it draws up contracts of use of funds for the provision of accredited assistance to be concluded with the assistance services and controls their implementation. 

Each year, the State budget for the accredited assistance is envisaged with regard to the highest possible amounts of appropriations of the State budget of the Republic of Lithuania set for the Ministry of Social Security and Labour in order to implement this measure, as well as the information submitted by the Department of Supervision of Social Services (prepared in accordance with the information submitted by assistance services) on the number of services that will provide accredited assistance during the upcoming budget year, the envisaged number of recipients of accredited assistance therein, with regard to how the need for the accredited assistance was met the previous budget year. 

The funds will be distributed to the services in proportion to the envisaged number of beneficiaries of accredited assistance in assistance services, by allowing one beneficiary of accredited assistance no more than the amount of 3 basic social benefits, without exceeding the maximum amounts of appropriation of the State budget of the Republic of Lithuania intended for the implementation of the measure. It is envisaged that the preliminary need for the additional State budget funds is about 1 million Euros each year. 

3. Description of Procedure of Provision of Accredited Assistance to Victims of Criminal Offences

Description of Procedure of Provision of Accredited Assistance to Victims of Criminal Offences aims to determine the organization and provision of accredited assistance for victims of criminal offences (hereinafter referred to as the Accredited Assistance), the functions, rights and obligations of the services providing assistance for victims of criminal offences. 

The Assistance Services help organizing the provision of the accredited services and their provision, when the assistance services are contacted by the victim, the first contact institution or, in a case of an application submitted by the victim, by other people. The system of organization and provision of assistance consists of: first conversation with the victim, during which it is attempted to find out the individual needs of the victim and the needs caused by the criminal offence. Having assessed the individual needs, the plan of the measures of assistance is created, which is used to further provide the accredited assistance. The plan of measures of assistance indicates the assistance measures, which will be necessary for the victim, the provider of assistance, the place of the provision of assistance, the methods of provision of assistance, the measures for the provision of the accredited assistance (with regard to individual needs of the victim), the duration of the provision of assistance. 

The assistance services perform functions of information, consultation, provision or organization of emotional and (or) psychological assistance, organization of temporary place of residence, accompanying of the victim to other institutions and organizations. 

The system of provision of assistance contributes to the creation of the common standard of provision of accredited assistance by implementing the Law on the Assistance for Victims of Criminal Offences of the Republic of Lithuania and by attempting to make sure that the victims of criminal offences receive the necessary assistance adapted to the individual needs of the victim. 

More information can be provided by the Department of Supervision of Social Services under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (e-mail: [email protected], tel.: +370 658 82130) and the Senior Specialist of the Targeted Assistance Department of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour Daiva Junevičienė (e-mail: [email protected], tel. +370 685 39690).