Victim of crime

A victim of crime is called the injured party.

Offences are either offences subject to public prosecution or complainant offences.

• Most offences are subject to public prosecution. This means that the police can investigate the matter and the prosecutor can take it to court and seek punishment, even if the injured party does not personally demand punishment for the offender. Offences subject to public prosecution include, for example, assault, fraud and robbery.
• In contrast, complainant offences are such that the prosecutor cannot bring charges for them unless the injured party demands punishment i.e. asks to press charges. Complainant offences include defamation, petty theft and petty fraud.

In order for a criminal case to be taken up, a police report must be filed. You can find more information on the police website about filing a police report, how it is processed and what happens after the report is filed..

Legal assistance for victims of crime

If you are a victim of crime, you have the right to legal counsel at every stage of the criminal proceedings: when reporting the crime, during questioning and at trial. You may be counselled by an attorney-at-law, public legal adviser or licensed legal counsel.

Read more about legal assistance for victims of crime on the National Legal Services Agency’s website.

A victim of crime during the consideration of charges

The average duration of the consideration of charges is between 2 and 3 months. However, every case is different. The prosecutor may resolved some straightforward criminal cases very quickly, whilst others take much longer.

An injured party in a criminal case will not receive a separate notification stating when the prosecutor has taken up their case.

If the prosecutor decides not to prosecute, they will send you a notice of the decision to waive charges. You are then entitled to bring charges in the case yourself.

If the prosecutor decides to bring charges, the case will be heard before a district court.

A victim of crime after the consideration of charges

Once the case has been referred to the district court, all communication regarding the case is the court’s responsibility. If you have any questions regarding court proceedings, please contact the district court.

You can also read on the Finnish courts’ website about what happens during a court hearing and in what order.

Pursuing the claims of the injured party

If the injured party so requests, the prosecutor may present the claim for damages to the defendant/accused on their behalf. However, the prosecutor may refuse to present the injured party’s claim if it is obviously ill-founded, or if its presentation would significantly hinder the prosecution of the case.

If the prosecutor refuses to present the claim in court, the injured party may present themselves in the court or retain counsel, such as an attorney-at-law, to present it on their behalf.

The injured party can also bring charges

The injured party also has a so-called secondary right of prosecution.

This means that, if the prosecutor decides not to prosecute or the pre-trial investigation authority or prosecutor decides that no pre-trial investigation will be carried or that it will be suspended or closed, the injured party is entitled to bring charges for the offence and to have the case considered by a court.

In such cases, the injured party pursues the case at their own risk, meaning that if they lose, they will have to pay the legal costs.

Support for victims of crime