Protection of the victim in the illegal occupation?

"...The crime constitutes an injustice against society and a violation of the individual rights of the victims. Therefore, the victims of crimes must be recognized and treated in a respectful, sensitive and professional manner, without discrimination of any kind for reasons such as race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic traits, language, religion or belief, political or other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability , age, sex, gender expression, gender identity, sexual orientation, residency status, or health..."

In these solemn, at the same time firm and forceful terms, the 9th Recital of Directive 2012/29/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 25, 2012, which established the minimum standards on rights, the support and protection of crime victims, in its national transposition, Law 4/2015, of April 27, of the Statute of the crime victim.

In order to focus the object of this commentary, we will clarify for readers the concepts on which our reflection will be based on the idea of ​​delving into the possible solutions to a complex problem (among other issues, the lack of protection of legal persons, the apathy of the Administration in in relation to access to housing, shifting the burden of doing so to those administered, situations of vulnerability and their assistance,...), although only from the point of view of the victim of the crime,

in the conviction that the Legal System has rules that assist him and should lead to the immediate restitution of his violated right.

From the outset and continuing with the title, illegal occupation shall be understood as that conduct in which, without due authorization, a property, dwelling or building belonging to others is occupied that does not constitute a dwelling, or is maintained in them against the will of its owner. , definition of the Criminal Code of the crime of usurpation. We would not cover here those cases in which violence or intimidation is used in carrying out these behaviors, since in these cases there seems to be a consensus regarding immediate police and judicial intervention, but not so in the former, given its degradation to a crime. slight (conscious forgetfulness of the Legislator?) after the reform of the Penal Code of 2015.

In relation to the victims, we will necessarily be referring to any natural person who has suffered damage or harm to their own person or property or economic damage directly caused by the commission of a crime (article 2 Statute of the Victim). In this case, the holder of the attacked right.

And finally, effective judicial protection, what are we referring to? With this, we necessarily appeal to immediate intervention as soon as a criminal act is known and under the protection of his condition as a victim, which implies the restitution of his patrimonial situation. And this because article 18 of the Victim Statute expressly regulates the return of assets, determining

that "...they shall have the right to obtain, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Criminal Procedure, the return without delay of the restorable assets of their property that have been seized in the process. The return may be denied when the conservation of the effects by the authority is essential for the correct development of the criminal process and is not sufficient with the imposition on the owner of an obligation to preserve the effects at the disposal of the Judge or Court ",

restitution that is also imposed in article 111.1º of the Penal Code (... The same good must be restituted, whenever possible). Y

finally in article 334 of the Law of Criminal Procedure, ordering that "the effects that belonged to the victim of the crime will be

immediately returned to it, unless exceptionally they should be kept as evidence or for the practice of other proceedings ", restitution at the headquarters of the Court of Instruction.

In light of the foregoing considerations, it must be concluded that the aforementioned regulations undoubtedly support and protect the victims in relation to the behaviors expressed in the well-understood that the verification by the authority of the commission of such acts should activate the springs proceedings, immediately restoring the victim to his property. Only in this way can we aspire to banish unfair situations against society and a violation of the individual rights of the victims and, of course, we will not discriminate against them based on property, as we alluded to at the beginning.