Criminal Policy toward Compensation of Victims of crime: A Comparative Study in Contemporary Legal Systems and Islamic Law

Abstract

This research addresses the criminal policy concerning compensation for crime victims, as one of the modern legal issues aiming to achieve comprehensive criminal justice by balancing the community’s right to punish the offender and the victim’s right to reparation. The study adopts a Doctrinal Legal Research Methodology, relying on legislative texts, judicial precedents, and legal scholarship in both comparative law and Islamic criminal jurisprudence. The first part explores the concept and development of victim compensation, tracing its origins and treatment in contemporary legal systems and Islamic law. The second part examines the scope and methods of compensation, highlighting the diversity among legal systems regarding eligible victims and procedural mechanisms, whether through the offender, the state, or national victim compensation funds. The research concludes that modern criminal justice is incomplete without restoring the victim’s dignity and ensuring full compensation—material and moral alike. It further finds that Islamic criminal law had long recognized this principle through the systems of diyya (blood money) and compensation, offering a balanced model that harmonizes punishment, deterrence, mercy, and reparation. The study recommends incorporating victims’ right to compensation into criminal legislation, establishing national compensation funds, and adopting a criminal policy that integrates restorative justice alongside retributive justice.