The victim reporting a crime or presenting a complaint has the right to receive a written acknowledgement of this complaint immediately and without having to request it. This is evidence that the complaint was made and it contains a description of the essential facts of the crime suffered.

A victim participating as a witness in criminal proceedings has the right to be compensated for the time spent in that role and to be reimbursed for expenses incurred.

Compensation must be requested in writing, in specific forms available at court.

The victim is entitled to 7 to 13 euros compensation for each visit to court. The exact amount is calculated with reference to the distance travelled and time spent by the victim.

The police officers collect the evidence but the Public Prosecutor has the power to lead the operations and, therefore, can guide the police actions.

In complex cases, the Public Prosecutor participates actively in the evidence collection by hearing witnesses and experts and visiting the crime scene, for example.

As a rule, compensation should be claimed for as part of the criminal proceedings. Victims should thus inform either the police or the Public Prosecutor up to the end of the investigation phase that they wish to file a claim for compensation, and they can do this when they provide evidence.

Later, when the victim receives the notification with the defendant’s accusation, they will have a deadline of 20 days to present the claim. If the claim is above 5,000 Euros, a lawyer representing the victim should present it. If it is equal to or less than 5,000 Euros, the victim can do it him/herself.

The claim for civil compensation does not involve special formalities: it is a request that should contain a brief description of the facts in which the request is grounded, the damages suffered and corresponding value.

Along with the claim for compensation, victims should also enclose supporting evidence, such as hospital bills, the names of people who witnessed their suffering, etc.

If there was a claim for compensation, the decision on that is included in the sentence.

Even if a claim for compensation is not presented, the judge, on his/her own initiative and taking into account the victim''s situation, can sentence the offender to pay the victim a certain amount in compensation for damages.

However, the judge will not be able to this if the victim disagrees.

A crime may be reported by anyone. However, certain crimes may require the victim to file a complaint in order for the criminal case to begin.

The report may be made verbally or in writing.

The report may be filed with the Public Safety Police, but also with the National Republican Guard, the Criminal Investigation Force, and directly with the Public Prosecution Service, for example.

Some crimes may also be reported online.

The witness is not required to provide his/her home address for notification purposes. He/she can choose to provide his/her work address or another address to avoid disclosing where he/she lives to the other participants in the process.

The witness can be accompanied by a lawyer every time he/she needs to provide evidence.

The witness's lawyer, when necessary, can inform the witness of his/her rights but cannot intervene in the interview.

Regarding the trial, the witness cannot attend it before being heard, so he/she should wait his/her turn in the area reserved to the witnesses and enter the courtroom only then.

After being heard, the victim may attend the rest of the trial or leave the courtroom.

To tell the truth is to describe everything that happened, with all the details you can remember.

This is your role as a witness.

Remember that your role is to tell what you know about what happened.

Do not come up with a reply just to answer the question.

You can and you should ask for the question to be repeated or better explained.

You can say: "I''m sorry. I didn''t understand. Can you please repeat/explain better?"