Guest Editors’ Introduction: Europe as a Comparative Site on Victim Participation in Criminal Justice

Victim participation is deep-rooted in criminal justice globally but has been contentious in contemporary academic, legal and policy debates. This Introduction to the Special Issue on Victim Participation in Europe explores what is similar and different to these debates using a European lens. The nature of the continent’s civil legal systems provides broad scope for victim participation, but familiar challenges appear. These challenges, such as the State’s claim of a monopoly on criminal offences and justice professionals’ commitment to continuing ‘the way things are,’ are not unique to civil systems. However, the diversity and tenacity of ‘the local’ within and across the countries of Europe offers enormous scope for victim participation in criminal justice. In this Introduction, we explore ways in which researchers could further investigate these opportunities from a comparative perspective.