The Balance between the Rights of the Accused and the Victim in Criminal Procedure Code 2013 and International Instruments

The new Criminal Procedure Code of 2013, despite much theoretical criticism and practical problems it might produce, has tried to balance between the rights of the accused and victim. In doing so, has provided guarantees and safeguards to materialize this goal. In one hand, with providing general safeguards, has tried to protect both parties. On the other hand, some special guarantees have been provided for each party. But it seems that these legislative goals have not been reached and there is not such a balance between two parties of a criminal process. This is mainly because the judges and other officials of criminal justice system are not equipped with necessary abilities to enforce the laws properly. There are also some structural problems which hinder this balance. So it seems that restorative justice is the best mechanism to reach this balance.