Rights of crime victims in cross-border transfers be passed to authorities there, and victims are kept informed through the Victims Liaison Unit. Right to interpretation and translation assistance As cross-border transfers involve different working languages of foreign authorities, victims may have difficulties communicating with authorities to get the information they seek. The United Kingdom appears to be the only EU Member State that, through legislation, provides interpretation and translation services to victims of crime to assist them in understanding information related to transfers of persons who have been convicted of a crime against them. This applies to circumstances falling under the Framework Decision on transfer of prisoners. In practice, five other EU Member States also provide this service to victims of crime, in relation to two or more of the Framework Decisions (the Czech Republic, Ireland, Latvia, Slovakia and Spain). Promising practice Informing victims of crime In implementing the Framework Decision on probation measures and alternative sanctions, the Ministry of Justice in Belgium issued a  Joint Circular on 19  August  2014, which provides that the public prosecutor must pay attention to the situation of the victim before transferring a judgment to another Member State. Source: Belgium, Ministry of Justice, 5 June 2015 Right of victims to express their views on transfers As for active involvement in the transfer procedure, only a handful of Member States provide victims with a right to be heard when making decisions on whether or not to transfer suspects or sentenced persons. The United Kingdom provides for this in law, while Belgium and Spain have an established practice of hearing the opinions of victims. In the United Kingdom, victims or their families can enter written representations in relation to transfers, which can be presented in any language to be translated into English. While victims do not have a veto over transfers, any representations will be considered carefully when determining whether to proceed with a transfer. It is possible, therefore, that a transfer may not go ahead if a victim’s representations are considered compelling.350 In Spain, in the case of probation, victims can request measures to ensure their safety, and they must be heard.351 In Belgium, while there is no legal provision,352 in practice, the opinion of the victim may exceptionally be requested when the competent authority deems it useful in adopting a decision.353 Conclusion and FRA Opinion In the context of cross-border transfers of suspects, accused and sentenced persons, victims’ rights to information and participation are affected. Two of the three Framework Decisions on transfers identify the protection of victims as overarching goals. Rights of victims are not explicitly mentioned in any of the three Framework Decisions. The Victims’ Rights Directive – adopted three to four years after the Framework Decisions – contains relevant rules in this regard. FRA’s overall findings show that, while it is not common for Member States to address victims in legislation implementing the three Framework Decisions, some states in practice do take victims into consideration and keep them informed when organising and making decisions on transfers. While a victim’s right to information on transfers of suspects or sentenced persons is not established, the right to receive information related to an offender’s release or escape – including in transfer situations – stems from Article 6 (5) of the Victims’ Rights Directive. Regardless of whether or not Member States have laws or practices establishing victims’ right to receive information, FRA’s research suggests that, in general, information is not automatically offered but is dependent on victims actively requesting the information from authorities. FRA’s findings on the implementation of the Framework Decisions show that such rights are granted to victims in the post-trial phase only in a minority of Member States. However, the deadline for transposing the Victims’ Rights Directive – 16 November 2015 – had not passed at the time of data collection for this research, and Member States are expected to make progress in this area in the coming months and years. 350 United Kingdom, Representative of NOMS. 351 Spain, Law 4/2015 on the Statute of Crime Victims (Ley 4/2015, de 27 de abril, del Estatuto de la víctima del delito), 28 April 2015, Art. 13. 352 Belgium, Representative of the Ministry of Justice and Joyn Legal law firm. 353 Belgium, Representative of the Ministry of Justice. 105