Victims' rights are generally defined as legal entitlements afforded to victims of crime. They vary according to the legal jurisdiction within which they are applied and are dependent on several variants including societal, cultural, political, socio-economic and geographical. Victims's rights belong to the public law sphere, and relate to criminal justice proceedings, constitutional law and restorative justice. Victims' rights must be aligned with international human rights law and in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Examples include the right to restitution, the right to a victims' advocate, and the right not to be excluded from criminal justice proceedings. A key principle underlying victims' rights is the need to avoid secondary victimisation in their implementation particularly when victims' are called to take a role in criminal justice proceedings.