Victim Assistance Act

Basic data
Title:	Federal Law on Assistance to Victims of Crime
Short title:	Victim Assistance Act
Abbreviation:	OHG
Type:	Federal law
Scope:	Switzerland
Legal matter:	Social law
Systematic legal collection (SR) :	312.5
Original version from:	4th October 1991
Entry into force on:	January 1, 1993
Last change by:	AS 2005 5685 (PDF file; 559 kB)
Effective date of the last change:	January 1, 2007
Please note the note on the applicable legal version.

The Federal Act on Assistance to Victims of Criminal Offenses ( Victims Assistance Act , OHG, SR 312.5) is a Swiss federal law that came into force on January 1, 1993 , which regulates every person who has committed a criminal offense in Switzerland in terms of their physical, psychological or sexual integrity has been directly affected, is entitled to assistance. The relatives of a victim are also eligible. In the case of a criminal offense abroad, benefits under the OHG are dependent on a place of residence in Switzerland, no compensation or gratuities are granted (Art. 3, 17 OHG).

content

Victim support includes free counseling and immediate help for the most urgent needs that arise as a result of the crime, as well as long-term help from the counseling centers until the health of the person concerned has stabilized and until the other consequences of the crime have been eliminated or compensated for as far as possible, also if need be Contributions to the costs of long-term help from third parties such as appropriate medical, psychological, social, material and legal help and compensation for the damage suffered as a result of impairment or death of the victim, as well as satisfaction depending on the severity of the impairment and the exemption from procedural costs for proceedings relating to the granting of Advice, emergency aid, long-term help, compensation and satisfaction (Art. 2 OHG) if the perpetrator or another obligated person or institution does not provide any or insufficient service (Art. 4, 6 OHG).

Criminal procedural assistance to victims

The law enforcement authorities inform the victim and his relatives about victim assistance and, under certain conditions, forward their name and address to an advice center (Art. 8 OHG).

Until the Swiss Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) came into force , the further special status of victims of a crime was regulated in Art. 33–44 OHG. For example, victims of sexual offenses had special protective rights such as being questioned by a person of the same sex (Art. 35 lit. a OHG old version).

With effect from January 1, 2011, the regulations on victim assistance in criminal proceedings were transferred to the StPO.

The Victims Assistance Act strongly intervened in the legal status of the accused by fundamentally excluding any confrontation or direct confrontation between the accused and the victim. Article 6 (3 ) (d) of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) guarantees the accused the right to be confronted with witnesses, while Article 5 (4) OHG denied this if the alleged victim requested it. A confrontation with the victim was only mandatory if his testimony was decisive evidence and the right to be heard cannot be guaranteed in any other way.