Facts
In this case, it was about the application of a widow for victim assistance due to the death of her husband from a malignant mesothelioma. The husband had worked unprotected with asbestos as an electrical installation apprentice from 1963 to 1967, which he attributed the disease to. The request was rejected by the lower instances, as the alleged criminal offense had been committed before the entry into force of the Victim Assistance Act on January 1, 1993.
The widow filed a complaint with the Federal Court and argued that the Victim Assistance Act should apply, as the criminally relevant result (the onset of the disease) occurred only after the law came into force.
Considerations
The Federal Court upheld the complaint. It stated that in the case of negligent offenses with a large time gap between the alleged criminal act and the occurrence of the legally relevant result, the time limit for the applicability of the Victim Assistance Act is not determined solely by the negligent conduct, but by the occurrence of the criminally relevant result.
Victim assistance law pursues a victim-oriented approach, which is aimed at…