The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled that national criminal injuries compensation schemes which exclude damages for pain and suffering are incompatible with EU law. The judgment, delivered on 2 October 2025, arose from a reference by the Irish High Court concerning a compensation award of only €642.62 to a man who suffered severe injuries, including permanent partial loss of vision, following a violent assault in Dublin.
The applicant, LD, a Spanish national resident in Ireland, was granted compensation limited to “out-of-pocket” expenses under the Irish Scheme of Compensation for Personal Injuries Criminally Inflicted. He challenged the scheme before the High Court, arguing that it failed to provide “fair and appropriate” compensation under Article 12(2) of Directive 2004/80/EC and breached the Charter of Fundamental Rights by excluding general damages for pain and suffering.
The High Court referred several questions to the CJEU, including whether the Directive requires member states to compensate victims for both material and non-material losses and whether “pain and suffering” falls within the scope of non-material harm.
The CJEU held that Article 12(2) of the Directive must be interpreted as precluding national schemes that exclude compensation for non-material harm, including pain and suffering. While acknowledging that member states have discretion to ensure the financial viability of compensation schemes, the Court found that awards must still reflect the seriousness of the harm suffered. Purely symbolic or manifestly insufficient awards would fail to satisfy the Directive’s requirement of “fair and appropriate” compensation.
The Court confirmed that the Directive’s purpose is to ensure a contribution to the reparation of both material and non-material losses suffered by victims of violent intentional crimes. Referring to Directive 2012/29, which defines “victims” as persons who have suffered physical, mental, or emotional harm, the CJEU concluded that the Irish scheme’s exclusion of pain and suffering was inconsistent with EU law.
In conclusion, the Court ruled that national compensation schemes must account for the seriousness of victims’ suffering and cannot exclude compensation for non-material harm. Subject to verification by the referring court, the €642.62 award made to LD could not be considered “fair and appropriate” within the meaning of the Directive.
Click here to read the judgment.