CRIMINAL COURT PROCEEDINGS

If you were the victim of a crime, it is very important that you report it to the authorities. If you do so, it is more likely that the person who committed the crime will be caught, held responsible and prevented from doing the same thing again, to you or to others.

Furthermore, it may be necessary to have reported the crime to be able to claim any rights to insurance or compensation, for example.

Reporting the crime to the authorities is also important for the purposes of crime statistics and general prevention or even for holding specific activities in certain cases and places to promote safety.

Police forces and personnel are required to report any crime they become aware of, whether in the course of their duties or because of their duties.
Reporting a crime is also mandatory for anyone who becomes aware of situations that endanger the life, physical or psychological integrity, or freedom of a child or young person under the age of 18.

If you would like to talk to someone before making your decision, the APAV's victim support staff are available to provide information and advice.

There are several reasons why you might be unwilling to report a crime:

• "It wasn’t important". Even a minor crime can be distressing and upsetting. The authorities know this and will take your complaint seriously.
• "It's embarrassing". You may be ashamed to report the crime. This often happens in cases of sexual or domestic violence. Authorities should deal with these situations sensitively and not judge you. Whatever your gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality or ethnicity, being a victim of crime can be traumatic.
• "The authorities don't care". The authorities have many cases and may not deal with yours as quickly as you would expect, but they will give it the proper attention. They may not always be able to identify or catch the person responsible for the crime, but their duty is always to try.
• "It's over and it hasn't affected me". If the crime has not had much impact on you, all the better. Some people are able to cope well with these difficult situations and act almost as if nothing had happened, even when a serious crime was committed against them. Nevertheless, if you don't report the crime, the authorities will not be able to try to catch the person who committed the crime and he/she might do it again. You should consider the fact that the next victim might not be as able as you are to overcome the effects of the crime.
• "I'm worried about what will happen next". It’s normal to feel nervous about having to go to the police, make a statement and then go to court to testify, but don’t forget that help is available to you throughout the entire process.

Whatever you decide to do, you are entitled to support. Even if you don't report the crime against you, it is very important that you talk to someone about what happened and how you feel, and that you receive all the help you need.

You can file your complaint or report with any of the following authorities:

• Public Prosecution Service (Ministério Público, MP)
• Judiciary Police (Polícia Judiciária, PJ)
• Public Security Police (Polícia de Segurança Pública, PSP)
• National Republican Guard (Guarda Nacional Republicana , GNR)

Each of these authorities has a duty to receive all the complaints and reports made to them, even if the crime was not committed within their territorial area or, in the case of the police forces, if they do not have jurisdiction for the investigation.

In some cases or in relation to certain crimes, complaints and reports may be filed with the Immigration and Border Service (Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras), at the branches of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences (Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal e Ciências Forenses), forensic offices and hospitals with forensics experts or via the Electronic Complaints Site of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ministério da Administração Interna).

You can file a complaint or report even if you don't know who committed the crime. It is for the authorities to then investigate and ascertain the identity of the offender.

For public crimes such as murder, robbery or domestic violence, it doesn’t have to be the victim that reports it. Anyone who knows of the crime can do so and this is sufficient for the Public Prosecutor to initiate criminal proceedings, even if the victim doesn’t wish to press charges. If you wish to report a crime but are afraid of retaliation, for example, and don’t want to reveal your identity, then you may do so anonymously. It is usually preferable that you identify yourself, however, so that you can be called upon to cooperate in the investigation at a later stage.

For other types of crimes, whether semi-public crimes such as non-aggravated theft, non-aggravated offences against physical integrity or private crimes such as insults, the victims themselves must file the complaint within 6 months of the crime. Otherwise, the Public Prosecutor will not be able to initiate criminal proceedings. If the victim cannot do so, because he/she is under 16, has died, or is ill, or for any other reason, then a close relative such as a husband or wife, father or mother, son or daughter, can file the complaint.

The complaint (unlike the report of the crime) may be withdrawn by the victim, that is to say, if for any reason the victim does not wish the proceedings to go ahead, he/she can withdraw the complaint, as long as the defendant is not against this. The application to withdraw the complaint must be submitted to the authority responsible for the proceedings at that time, i.e. the Public Prosecutor during the inquiry stage and examination stage or the judge during the trial stage.

Reporting a crime or filing a complaint is free of charge, does not require any formalities and can be done verbally or in writing. You should include as many details as possible to help the investigation, such as the date, time, place and circumstances of the crime, identification of the suspect(s) and the names of any witnesses and any other evidence.

When the victim reports a crime or files a complaint, he/she is entitled to receive a certificate showing that the complaint was registered, that is, a document confirming that the complaint was made and stating the type of crime, along with the date and place, and the harm or damage caused. To find out more about this entitlement, click here.

What happens after a crime is reported? To find out more, click here.

Forensic examinations of the victim of a crime are a key part of the legal system. The victim’s body is examined for marks caused by violence used during the crime, such as scratches, redness, wounds, bruising or other injuries. They are also used to find any biological or non-biological traces on the victim’s body and/or clothes and items which may have been left or used by the offender, such as blood, sperm, vaginal fluids, skin, hair, fibres, etc.

These forensic exams are very important because they can provide very significant evidence for criminal proceedings. Besides their usefulness in gathering evidence of the violence used, these exams may also play an important role in the victim's recovery, as they provide a time of quiet and healing in contrast to the violence of the crime.

If you need further information about how important forensic exams are and how they are carried out, APAV can help.

If you are the victim of a sexual crime, you should contact the Criminal Investigation Police (Polícia Judiciária). Apart from taking any urgent measures which may be necessary, they will refer the victim, if necessary, to the local health unit and/or forensic branch or office of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences for diagnosis, treatment and/or gathering evidence. If you go directly to one of the Legal Medicine and Forensic Branches (located in some hospitals) of the National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences or to a local health unit after suffering a sexual crime or an assault which caused you injury, you will be able to report the crime there and be seen either by a forensic doctor or, in hospitals where these doctors are not available on a 24-hour basis, by an emergency room doctor.

After receiving the case file, the judge (who is not the same judge as the examining judge) schedules the trial date and a summons or notice is sent by letter to all the people who have to participate in it.
Write down the date in your calendar or wherever you write down important events to ensure that you will not forget to attend.

The trial must be scheduled at least 30 days in advance.

It is perfectly normal to feel anxious and uncertain before the trial. This is a new situation and one to which you are not accustomed. That's why it is important that you prepare for it. APAV can help you do this.

If you get the chance, go to the courtroom a few days before the trial so you become familiar with different areas, such as the courtroom and the witness waiting room and, if possible, attend another trial or at least part of it.

On the day of the trial, you are likely to meet the defendant and his/her friends and relatives. You should prepare for this possibility by planning in advance what you should do: trying to keep away from them, not reacting to any provocation and, if you feel threatened, informing the court officer and/or the police officer in the courtroom immediately. If possible, take someone with you. Whatever your role in the proceedings, you are entitled to be accompanied by a lawyer.

At the trial, you will be asked questions by the judge, the Public Prosecutor, the defence lawyer and your own lawyer, if you have one. It is natural that you will be asked to provide as much detail as possible, because the more information the court has, the better its decision will be. What the judge expects you to do is to tell the court what happened in your own words. Therefore, before the trial, you should try to arrange in your mind all the information you think it is important to transmit to the court. You could also take some notes with you, such as the dates of the most relevant facts. However, it is normal that you will not remember some details, especially if some time has gone by since the day of the crime. In these cases, don’t be afraid to say "I don’t remember".

Don’t forget that if you were the victim of a crime, attending the trial can play an important part in your recovery.
Criminal behaviour is neither accepted nor tolerated by society and the trial plays a key role in conveying this message: those who break the law must be held responsible and suffer the consequences.

Do not miss the trial!
Your presence is very important!
Your knowledge about what happened is essential and can be decisive for the judge's decision. Missing the trial will delay the proceedings or make it difficult to find out the truth or for justice to be done.

If you know in advance that you cannot attend the trial, you should inform the court in writing at least 5 days in advance and enclose any documents that justify your non-attendance.

If something unexpected happens to prevent your appearing in court, such as illness or transport delays, you must inform the court as soon as possible and, within 3 days, submit evidence proving why you could not attend the trial, such as a medical certificate or a declaration from the transport company confirming the delay.

Needing to work is not a valid excuse as the court issues attendance declarations to justify your absence from your place of work.
If you don’t attend the trial and don’t provide any justification, you will have to pay a fine. The court may also order the police to detain you and bring you to court.

If you received a summons or notice to attend a trial, you must attend on the date and at the place stated.

Do plan your trip to the court in advance by getting information about its exact location and estimating the travel time. To find locations on a map, click here.

If possible, try to arrive a little early as security checks sometimes take time, particularly in the larger courts, and to find out exactly where you must go. If you are not sure, ask a court officer, who will be able to direct you to where you need to go. After reaching your destination, wait until a court officer calls the names of the people attending the trial. Respond when your name is called so that your presence there is recorded. You should then wait until the court officer calls you into the courtroom. If you are attending as a witness then you can only enter the courtroom when it is your turn to testify. You cannot attend the trial before that, but you may do so after testifying.

Sometimes the trial may start late either because not all the participants have arrived or because the previous trial is running late. In either case, you must wait. It is a good idea to take a book, a newspaper or a magazine to read, and/or music to listen to while you wait.

Trials are almost always open to the public, that is, anyone can go into the courtroom and attend the hearing.

There are a few exceptions, however, such as in cases involving sexual crimes or human trafficking. In this kind of trial, the public is not usually allowed into the courtroom in order to protect the victim's privacy.

The trial hearing is presided over by the judge. In cases involving more serious crimes, the court is composed of three judges and is called a collective court (a panel court). For some of the more serious crimes, there may be a jury trial, comprising a panel of 3 judges and 4 citizens.

The other people present at the trial are:

• the Public Prosecutor
• the court officer
• the defendant and his/her lawyer
• the assistant, when the victim has been granted this status, and his/her lawyer
• the civil parties, that is, the people who have filed a civil action for damages against the defendant because the crime caused them some kind of loss.
• the witnesses and the expert witnesses.

The victim can participate in the trial as an assistant, as a civil party or as a witness.

As an assistant, the victim has an active role in the trial.

He/she cooperates with the Public Prosecutor in producing evidence of the facts described in the indictment and his/her lawyer may, for example, submit evidence, cross-examine the defendant, the witnesses and the expert witnesses. At the end of the trial, the assistant may also present his/her arguments, that is, give his/her opinion on the evidence presented and on whether or not the defendant should be convicted.

As a civil party, the victim will defend his/her right to damages. The victim’s lawyer, if he/she has one, may cross-examine the defendant, the witnesses and the expert witnesses about aspects related to the claim for damages, particularly about the harm which the crime caused to the victim.

Whatever the victim’s role in the trial, his/her presence there is very important.

The victim's relatives may not necessarily be called as witnesses but they are entitled, with a few exceptions, to attend the trial.

The trial may only be postponed in exceptional circumstances, such as the absence of a person whose presence is deemed essential or the need to gather some last-minute evidence.
Ideally, the trial takes place without interruption from start to finish. In many cases, however, this is not possible, especially when there are many people who must be examined – defendants, witnesses, expert witnesses or other participants in the proceedings. Therefore, the judge can adjourn the hearing and schedule its continuation for another day.

If the defendant was served a summons to appear in court but fails to attend, the trial may be held even in his/her absence and the sentence communicated to him/her at a later stage. If it was not possible to serve the summons, because, for example, the defendant’s whereabouts were unknown, this means that the defendant breached his/her duty to inform the court of his/her absence from the address given. In this case, the proceedings will be stayed while the authorities attempt to locate him/her. In these cases, the defendant is classified as wilfully disobedient and his/her name is included in a register of wilfully disobedient persons. This carries a number of negative consequences, including arrest warrants being issued in their names, not being able to obtain documents such as identity cards or driving licences, and possibly having their property seized, all with the objective of finding them and holding them liable for the acts they are suspected of having committed.

The trial starts by identifying the defendant and then the judge reads the charge. Next, the Public Prosecutor and the lawyers, if they wish, have their turn to speak so that they can describe briefly what they intend to prove. It is however normal to move directly on to the evidence stage.

All the evidence is presented at the trial to the judge and to the other participants to make their experience with the evidence as direct as possible. The defendant is examined and the witnesses questioned even if they had already given evidence during the investigation. The expert witnesses may be asked to explain the exams they conducted and documents such as medical reports are reassessed.

The first person to be questioned is the defendant. He/she is entitled to refuse to provide any statement since no one can be forced to testify against themselves. However, the statements he/she made at earlier stages may be used and weighed up by the judge. If the defendant is willing to make a statement, because he/she considers it may be helpful for his/her defence, the judge starts by asking whether or not what is written in the charge is true, that is, whether or not the defendant confesses to the facts. The defendant then has the chance to give his/her version of what happened and the judge may interrupt in order to ask specific questions. After that, the judge first asks the Public Prosecutor and afterwards the lawyers if they want to ask questions.

If the defendant confesses to the facts of he/she is accused, the crime is considered proven and therefore, in principle, it is not necessary to submit further evidence. If there is no further evidence to be submitted. e.g. if there is no civil action for damages, the trial moves directly on to the closing statements.

If the defendant does not confess, then in general the victim is called to testify. The judge starts by asking questions about his/her identity and the victim must remain standing while answering these questions. Next, the judge hands over to the Public Prosecutor, who will ask the victim to describe the facts. It is normal for the Public Prosecutor to interrupt your responses sometimes with questions because it may be necessary to give a better or more detailed explanation of some aspects that are less clear. It is then the turn of the lawyers who are present to ask questions. It is possible that you may feel uncomfortable with some questions asked by the defence lawyer and think that they are challenging what you went through. Don’t forget that the defence lawyer has to defend his/her client’s interests. Stay calm and always answer as objectively as possible. If any question exceeds the acceptable boundaries, it is for the judge to interrupt and maintain order and discipline. If you feel that any of the participants is being rude or aggressive, calmly convey your feeling to the judge.

Next, the witnesses are examined. The prosecution witnesses are first examined by the Public Prosecutor or by the assistant's lawyer if it was he/she who requested their presence, and then by the other participants. The defence lawyer is always the last to ask questions. Any witness under the age of 16 may only be questioned by the judge, but the other participants can ask the judge to ask the questions they consider relevant. Witnesses are entitled to reimbursement of the expenses they incurred by participating in the trial.

The defendant may be removed from the courtroom while some witnesses are testifying, particularly the victim, if the court considers that his/her presence may deter the victim from telling the truth, or if he/she is under 16 and there are reasons to believe that testifying in the presence of the defendant may have a serious adverse effect.

Expert witnesses are then heard if this has been requested or when the court wants to clarify any detail of the exams they conducted. This usually occurs after the witnesses have testified.

All the oral evidence given in court is recorded so that, if there is an appeal, the appeal court can listen to the recordings and does not need to have the participants called to testify again.

Apart from witness testimonies, other evidence such as documents may be relevant and these must be included in the case file in order to be taken into account. The judge may also consider it important to visit the crime scene in order to get to know it better and for any re-enactment of the facts in the presence of all the participants in the proceedings.

It is natural that, during the trial, the defendant and/or the witnesses may say something that you may find disturbing or unpleasant, particularly when you know that it is not true.

Stay calm and, when asked to contribute, tell the truth without getting annoyed or losing your temper.

After the evidence stage, the judge will ask the defendant some questions about his/her personal, family, professional and financial situation. The answers to these questions may be important for the court’s decision, particularly with regard to sentencing: for example, the defendant's financial situation is taken into account when deciding which fine to impose.

Afterwards, the Public Prosecutor, the assistant's lawyer, the lawyer for the civil parties and the defence lawyer are entitled to make their closing statements, that is, to tell the judge what they consider was proven or otherwise and, if they think it was proven that the defendant committed the crime, which punishment should be imposed. After these statements, the defendant may still, if he/she wishes, add anything else he/she considers important for his/her defence.

If the case is a simple one and the decision is easy, the judge may announce it immediately. However, it is more common for the judge to schedule a date some days later for reading the decision.