Can I claim compensation while filing a criminal complaint?

Answer by the AvoConsulte editorial team

Yes. The Code of Criminal Procedure gives the victim a choice: claim compensation in the criminal case itself by joining as a civil party, or bring a separate claim before the civil court. What you cannot do is pursue the same claim in both at once.

Option 1: join the criminal case as a civil party

Anyone who personally suffered harm caused directly by the offence can bring the civil claim together with the prosecution. You join by a written, signed request to the public prosecutor, the investigating judge or the court hearing the case. No deposit of costs is required, except where you start the prosecution yourself after the prosecutor has dropped the case. The criminal court then rules on the penalty and the damages in one judgment.

• Advantages: a single case, the prosecution gathers the evidence, and it is often quicker and cheaper.
• Limits: you must join at first instance, not for the first time on appeal; once a civil party, you can no longer be heard as a witness; and if the accused is acquitted, the criminal court declines jurisdiction over the civil claim, which then has to go to the civil court.

Option 2: the civil court

You can sue separately in the civil court. But if a prosecution has been started, the civil court must wait for the final decision in the criminal case before ruling. Once you have chosen the civil court, you cannot move the claim to the criminal court, unless the prosecutor brought the case there before the civil court ruled on the merits.

Time limits

The civil claim is time-barred under the same conditions and periods as the prosecution of the offence. Withdrawing your complaint does not, as a rule, stop the prosecution, except where the law provides otherwise.

The better route depends on the evidence and the amounts at stake, so speak to a lawyer before filing. Traffic accidents follow special insurance rules.

This answer was written by the AvoConsulte editorial team and gives general information only: it is not legal advice. For your own situation, consult a lawyer.

Sources

1. Code de procédure pénale (loi n° 68-23 du 24 juillet 1968, texte mis à jour) Police and Human Rights Resources (Amnesty International Pays-Bas)