A victims' Charter to be published by the Government today will allow victims of crime to demand a review of their case when the DPP decides not to prosecute.
At present, victims of crime are not able to make such a request.
A senior legal assistant in the office of the DPP who has not dealt with the original case will carry out the internal review. It is understood that the DPP will report back to the victim as to how the office arrived at the decision not to prosecute.
The charter also pledges the appointment of liaison officers from within the Garda, the courts and the prison service to deal with the grievances of crime victims.
All the agencies with which a victim of crime comes in contact, such as the DPP, the Garda and the courts, have signed up to the charter, which will be launched today by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue. It will cover all aspects of the criminal justice system, and was described as "innovative" and "comprehensive" by a Department of Justice source last night.
The most far-reaching measure is giving victims the power to seek an independent internal review of their case if they are unhappy with a decision not to charge.
"This will be the first time ever that a crime victim will have any redress in the event of the DPP deciding not to prosecute. This is a major breakthrough as far as victims are concerned," the source said.
This is the first victims' charter to encompass all elements of the criminal justice system. Previous charters concentrated on individual agencies. Last year a specific charter covering how gardai deal with victims was brought in.
A source in the Victim Support Group, which had a major input into drafting the charter, said last night that one of the biggest problems from a victim's point of view in the past has been lack of information on a case which is being investigated.
"For example, if a suspect is let out on bail, a victim often finds this extremely upsetting and needs to have it explained that a suspect has a constitutional right to bail."