Victims

You are the victim of an offence. What can you and must you do? And what are your rights and duties as a victim?

If you are the victim of a crime, you can firstly enter a complaint at a police station. A police official will record your complaint in a statement.

Naturally you can also make a claim for damages. The fact that you are a victim does not automatically mean that you are entitled to compensation: you must also bring a civil action. For this you must be able to demonstrate that you have suffered a loss.

To help you during any court case, you can also contact a lawyer. You are not obliged to employ a lawyer, but in some - generally complicated - cases, for example fraud, this can be very helpful.

You can find more information about your rights as a victim on the website of the FPS Justice (dutch-french).