حقوق المجني عليه في مواجهة انفراد النيابة العامة بسلطة تحريك الدعوى الجزائية: دراسة مقارنة

Abstract

This paper is an evaluative, critical, and comparative study of a crime victim’s right to complaint, as well as his or her right to complaint specifically associated with a civil rights claim, under the procedural criminal laws of both Jordan and the UAE. It seeks to critically review these rights, which are the victim’s only legal means before the exclusive and absolute authority of the public prosecutor to initiate criminal cases, with the goal of evaluating and exploring the extent to which the formulation of these rights is adequate and reflective of their purpose. Comparative analysis reveals that although both countries’ laws recognize the victim’s right to file a complaint, various limitations exist in both countries that might undermine the laws’ effective usage. Such limitations include the lack of legal protection in both countries for cases involving illegal rejection of the complaint, with no explicit legal duty imposed upon the prosecution to accept and investigate a complaint under the UAE law. In addition, neither country’s laws consider illegal rejection of the victim’s complaint an offence, and the submission of such a complaint does not stop prescription of the criminal case. In other words, even where a complaint has been submitted, the time until a complaint is no longer allowed continues to run. In addition, the victim does not have the right to object in court to the prosecution’s decision involving the rejection of his or her complaint. Moreover, the victim’s abandonment of his or her complaint, in both jurisdictions, is limited to situations where no final judgment has been issued, and, as a general rule, it has no effect on the outcome of the criminal case or punishment. Comparative analysis also shows that, unlike in Jordan, UAE law does not grant the victim the right to lodge a complaint associated with a civil rights claim directly before a criminal court, or the right to initiate his or her case before a magistrate court without going through public prosecution. UAE law also does not consider the victim lodging a complaint associated with a civil rights claim a reason for forcing the public prosecutor to initiate a criminal case. All in all, comparative analysis demonstrates that there are various shortcomings existing in each country’s laws concerning the subject matter of this paper, and demonstrating the need for some possible deeper structural reforms.