- I was a victim of a criminal offence: consequences and reactions
- The rights of victims of a criminal offence
- Right to be treated with respect and dignity
- Right to privacy
- Right to information about rights from the first contact with the competent authority
- Right to be heard
- Right to interpretation and translation
- Right to be accompanied by a victim support association
- Right to be accompanied by a legal representative and an adult of your choice
- Right to declare a third party’s address as a home address (with their consent)
- Right to return of property
- Right to compensation
- Right to legal aid
- Right to an individualised assessment
- Right to specific protection measures
- Social protection rights
- Right to an alternative to criminal proceedings: mediation
- Right to benefit from restorative justice measures
- Right to information on appeals and remedies
- Criminal proceedings
- Who is who in criminal proceedings
Right to be accompanied by a legal representative and an adult of your choice
Any victim may be accompanied by their legal representative and by an adult of their choice (at all stages of the investigations – Article 10-4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, at all stages of the procedure – Article 10-2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure), unless the competent judicial authority decides otherwise, with good grounds.
The legal representative will be responsible for taking action on behalf of a victim who is a minor. They will be able to sign for the victim and submit documents.
The person accompanying the victim may be a relative (family, partner, friend) or a victim support professional. This means any third party, who must be an adult, who will be a reassuring presence for the victim; they cannot intervene in the procedure and do not represent the victim.
The victim support professional, who works for a victim support association, will also be able to provide the victim with information about the procedure and answer any questions.
Support by a victim support professional is in addition to the work of the lawyer, and in no way replaces it.
For more information on the accompaniment of victims, please watch this video (in French):
WithYou_Videospot.mp4