Thesis

I, victim : the creation of the ‘victim’ in Scots criminal law

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Awarding institution
  • University of Strathclyde
Date of award
  • 2025
Thesis identifier
  • T17359
Person Identifier (Local)
  • 201772461
Qualification Level
Qualification Name
Department, School or Faculty
Abstract
  • This thesis sets out to answer the question: what is the victim as a legal construct in Scots law? This thesis demonstrates that the victim as a legal concept is protean and has changed over time, shaped and reshaped by external factors, to meet the needs of the legal system and times into which it is introduced. This thesis proposes that a new concept of the victim has been created in Scots law and will examine the socio-political factors which gave rise to this new legal phenomenon. It will then examine how international legal mechanisms enabled this new concept of the victim to permeate the centre of the Scottish criminal justice system. Finally, it will propose how this new legal construct of the victim might be understood as compatible with the framework of the current legal system, and without having to abandon the fundamental pillars of that system or creating a paradox within the system itself. Through exploring its central question, this thesis addresses three key themes: First, the relationship between the victim and the state, and specifically the impact the changing relationship between these two parties has on our understanding of the victim and the criminal justice system. Second, the impact of victim creation on our criminal justice discourse, specifically how differing attitudes of the legal function of the victim, can lead to incoherent discourse and conceptual paradox within the system itself. Thirdly, the role of a rights-based model in conceptualising the victim in Scots law, specifically the rights of recognition, access and participation and how this might offer the solution to a unifying construct of the victim.
Advisor / supervisor
  • Wheate, Rhonda
  • Tata, Cyrus
Resource Type
DOI
Date Created
  • 2024

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