Filing a secondary action
As a victim of a criminal offence, you can join the criminal proceedings against the accused with a joint action.
However, this only applies to certain offences, for example
- Rape and sexual abuse
- Bodily harm
- Hostage-taking or serious deprivation of liberty
- Robbery, if there are serious consequences of the offence or other special reasons.
Relatives of a victim who has been killed can also bring a secondary action.
The public prosecutor's office remains the main plaintiff.
As a co-plaintiff, you have the following rights:
- the right to be present during the entire trial, even if you are to be questioned as a witness
- during the main hearing, for example, the right to challenge a judge or expert witness due to bias, the right to submit motions for evidence or the right to make statements
- the right to request access to the files through your lawyer
- the right to lodge an appeal
Please note: You can exercise these rights independently of the public prosecutor's office.
Responsible authority
the criminal court dealing with the case
Contact
Details
Prerequisite
- A criminal offence is being tried for which the accessory prosecution is admissible
- You yourself are the victim of the offence or belong to the following group of people if a close family member was killed:
- Parents
- Children
- Siblings
- Wife or husband, life partner
Procedure
Apply in writing to the competent authority for authorisation as a joint plaintiff.
Please note: You do not need a lawyer for this. Contact the court during the preliminary proceedings.
After the public prosecutor's office has filed charges, the court will hear the public prosecutor's office and then decide whether the accessory prosecution is admissible. You will receive the decision in the form of a court order.
Please note: As a joint plaintiff, you cannot initiate the proceedings on your own initiative.
Deadlines
If the public prosecutor's office has filed an indictment, proceedings can be initiatedat any time. If you do not agree with the judgement, you can - as long as the appeal period has not expired - also enter proceedings after the judgement has been issued in order to appeal against the judgement. A corresponding application to join the proceedings as a joint plaintiff can be made before the indictment is issued.
Required documents
written declaration
Costs
- if the offender is convicted: none, provided the convicted person is solvent
- in the event of acquittal, non-opening or discontinuation of court proceedings:
- you as co-plaintiff bear the costs incurred as a result of your participation yourself
- the costs of an assigned lawyer are paid by the state.
Note: You can apply for legal aid to join proceedings as a joint plaintiff.
Miscellaneous
In the case of particularly serious offences, you can apply for the appointment of a victim advocate or a psychosocial court counsellor at state expense.
If you are under the age of 18, the requirements for this appointment are less strict.
If you are in need, you can apply for legal aid to authorise a lawyer.
Legal basis
- §§ 395 - 402 Nebenklage
Release note
machine generated, based on the German release by: Justizministerium Baden-Württemberg, 28.10.2024