How and where can I report a crime?
How can I follow up on what the authorities do after I report a crime?
How can I be involved in the investigation of the crime?
What are my rights as a witness?
I am a minor. Do I have additional rights?
How can I get protection, if I am in danger?
What services and assistance can I be given during the investigation of the crime?
How will my case continue after the end of the investigation?
Can I appeal if my case is closed without reaching the court?
I am a foreigner. How are my rights and interests protected?
If you have suffered from or otherwise learned about a crime you can report it:
You can report a crime in any language. If you do not speak Latvian translation will be provided free of charge.
There is no obligatory form you should follow when reporting a crime. If you report in writing you have to include information about yourself (name and surname), a detailed description of the incident, and your contact details (telephone number and e-mail).
There is no deadline for reporting a crime. However, there is a certain period of time specified in the law (ranging from six months to 15 years depending on the crime), after which you can still submit a report but the offender will not be prosecuted.
Your report will be registered and you will be given a reference number. You can check how your case is proceeding by using this reference number. Inquiries can also be made by date of reporting or by the name of the person who has reported the crime.
You can check the progress of your case by:
You will receive an official letter informing you whether an investigation will be opened on your case. If the decision is to close the case without opening an investigation you have the right to appeal. The deadline for submitting the appeal is ten days following the receipt of the letter. If the decision to close the case has been made by a police officer your appeal should be submitted to the public prosecutor; if a public prosecutor has made the decision the appeal should be submitted to the superior public prosecutor.
If you wish, you can present additional information at any time during the investigation:
In the course of the investigation you will probably be interviewed by the police. You can change, clarify or supplement your testimony after the interview by:
You can authorise any person above 18 years of age to represent you. People with mental disabilities are represented by their trustees, close relatives (parents, brothers, sisters, etc.) or representatives of non-governmental organisations.
You can use the assistance of a lawyer. You can choose a lawyer from the online database of lawyers, which offers a full list of lawyers and their contact details. The lawyer’s services will be free of charge if you qualify for legal aid.
You can ask the police officer or the public prosecutor to formally recognise you as a victim. There is no deadline for making the request. If the police officer rejects your request you can appeal against his/her decision to the public prosecutor supervising your case. If the refusal comes from the public prosecutor you can appeal to the superior public prosecutor.
If your spouse, parent, child or other close relative has died as a result of the crime you can also ask to be considered a victim and participate in the criminal proceedings as such.
As a victim you can receive information about the proceedings by asking questions to the public prosecutor or the police, by checking the contents of the case file and by requesting and receiving copies of documents.
You do not need to prove anything in relation to the crime. The public prosecutor and the police are responsible for this. You can provide information to facilitate the investigation and propose investigative actions. Only if you are victim of a less serious offence (e.g. slight bodily injury), will you have to prove the case in court and you will need to collect and present all the evidence.
You can request reimbursement for the expenses related to your participation in the proceedings. Requests are presented to the police or the public prosecution service depending on the investigative action you have participated in. There is no deadline for claiming reimbursement. You can request reimbursement for:
If you are called for an interview as a witness you will receive information about the criminal proceedings for which you will be interviewed and the identity and position of the official conducting the interview. Before the interview you will be informed about your rights and duties as a witness. The authorities are also obliged to inform you of how they will record the interview.
As a witness you can:
You are obliged not to disclose any information about the investigation you have learned during your interview.
If you are formally recognised as a victim and are interviewed in the course of the investigation as a witness, you will benefit from all the rights of a victim as well.
If you are not formally recognised as a victim and are participating in the proceedings only as a witness, you will have fewer possibilities to be informed about the investigation. However, if you are in danger you will have the same rights to protection measures as the victim.
You can receive reimbursement for your costs related to your testimony.
If you are a child under 18 years of age your parents or guardian will represent you during the investigation. Your grandparents or your elder brother or sister (provided they are above 18 years of age) can also represent you if you have lived with them and they have been taking care of you. In some specific cases (e.g. when you do not have such relatives) a representative of a governmental agency or non-governmental organisation will represent you. The public prosecutor will assign a lawyer to represent you if he/she believes that the other persons mentioned above would not adequately protect your interests.
If you have suffered from violent crime you will receive special medical and social rehabilitation assistance. Depending on the case, such assistance can be provided at your home or in a specialised facility.
The police officer or the public prosecutor will inform you about your rights if you have been formally recognised as a victim or if you have been called for an interview as a witness. In practice, the information is provided orally when you appear at the police or the public prosecutor’s office.
You can receive legal aid free of charge if you want to have a lawyer but because of your low income, specific status (e.g. person in need) or other exceptional circumstances (e.g. natural disaster) you cannot pay for the services of a lawyer.
Legal aid free of charge is also available to people who are dependent on the State (e.g. elderly or ill people accommodated in social rehabilitation institutions, children without parents living in social care homes, etc.).
If you are afraid of the offender you can ask the public prosecutor or the police officer to issue an order prohibiting him/her from approaching you, getting in physical or visual contact with you and talking to you on the phone or communicating with you by other means.
Additional protection is available if you are a victim or a witness and you are afraid that your testimony may put you in danger. Such protection is also available to the persons close to you who might be in danger because of your participation in the proceedings as well as to other persons involved in the detection and investigation of the crime.
You can be placed under special protection before and/or after the opening of the investigation.
Protection measures may include:
If you wish to be placed under special protection you have to submit a written request to the public prosecutor or the police officer in charge of your case. The public prosecutor or the police officer will examine your request and if he/she decides that you need protection, your request will be forwarded to the Prosecutor General who will specify the measures to be taken. The decision on your request must be taken within 10 days.
If you have been placed under special protection you will be interviewed by a representative of the special police unit called Persons Protection Bureau. Your name will be replaced by a pseudonym in all documents related to the case. The address for communicating with you will be the address of the Persons Protection Bureau. If you have to attend investigative actions together with other people your identity will be kept secret by using special technical means. You will also have the right not to answer questions that may reveal your identity.
You can receive medical assistance free of charge if you have a valid health insurance. Citizens of the 27 EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland can benefit from the European Health Insurance Card. Some healthcare services, e.g. emergency medical care, are free of charge irrespective of whether you have a health insurance or not.
You can receive psychological assistance but you have to pay for it. If the police officer finds it necessary he/she can ask the Crisis Centre (a social institution for the provision of short-term psychological and other types of assistance to persons in crisis situation) to provide a psychologist to assist you.
If you have suffered from a violent crime or you are a victim of human trafficking you can receive social rehabilitation services free of charge.
Psychological assistance and social rehabilitation services free of charge are also available to people with low income.
During the investigation you can request or be invited to participate in a procedure called “victim – offender mediation”. Its objective is to help you reconcile with the offender and reach an agreement on how to rectify the consequences of the crime. During the procedure you will participate in a series of meetings with the offender in the presence of a person called a “mediator”, who will help you to reach conciliation.
Mediation is a voluntary procedure. You can refuse to participate both before and during the procedure.
The main institution offering mediation services is the State Probation Service. You can contact the mediation department of the State Probation Service by phone (+371 67021176) or e-mail (
izligums@vpd.gov.lv). The services provided by the State Probation Service are free of charge.
Some non-governmental organisations also offer mediation services. One such organisation is the Victims Support Centre. The services provided by the Victims Support Centre are not free of charge: only the first meeting is free, thereafter there is a fee of 50 Lats (approximately 70 euro) per hour.
At the end of the investigation the public prosecutor has to decide how to proceed with the case. If the public prosecutor believes that there is sufficient evidence for prosecuting the offender he/she will bring the case to the court for trial. Otherwise, if the collected evidence is not enough, the public prosecutor will close the case.
If the public prosecutor decides to close the case without bringing it to court you will receive a notification. You can appeal against the public prosecutor’s decision before the superior public prosecutor. The deadline for submitting the appeal is 10 days.
If you are a foreigner you can benefit from all the rights described above. You also have some additional rights to facilitate your participation in the proceedings.
If you do not speak Latvian you can use any language you understand. The police and the public prosecutor are obliged to provide you with an interpreter free of charge. If a document is issued in the course of the investigation, which concerns you, it will also be translated, free of charge.
You can receive legal aid free of charge if you are citizen of the European Union, you legally reside on the territory of Latvia and you cannot pay for the services of a lawyer.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
How can I be involved in the trial?
What are my rights as a witness?
I am a minor. Do I have additional rights?
How can I get protection, if I am in danger?
How can I claim damages from the offender or receive compensation from the state?
I am a foreigner. How are my rights and interests protected?
If you have missed the opportunity to ask to be formally recognised as a victim during the investigation, you can ask the court make this formal recognition during the trial. Your request must be made before the court starts to examine the evidence.
As a victim you have the following rights during the trial:
You can receive information about the trial online through the Latvian Judicial Portal. You do not need special registration or authorisation but to receive information you have to insert the number of your case.
As a victim, your presence in the courtroom is not obligatory. If you cannot attend the hearing due to justified reasons (e.g. illness) you can ask the court to postpone it. In certain cases the court may also request your presence if it is important for the outcome of the case.
During the trial you can authorise any person above 18 years of age to represent you. You can also use the assistance of a lawyer. You can choose a lawyer from the online database of lawyers, which offers a full list of lawyers and their contact details. The lawyer’s services will be free of charge if you qualify for legal aid.
You can make a request to the court to reimburse you for the expenses related to your participation in the trial. There is no deadline for claiming reimbursement. You can request reimbursement for:
If you are called for an interview as a witness you will receive information about the criminal proceedings for which you will be interviewed and about your rights and duties as a witness.
As a witness you can:
You are obliged not to disclose any information about the case you have learned during your interview.
If you are formally recognised as a victim and are interviewed in the course of the trial as a witness, you will benefit from all rights of a victim.
If you are child under 18 years of age you will be represented during the trial by:
You can receive legal aid free of charge if you want to have a lawyer but because of your low income, specific status (e.g. person in need) or other exceptional circumstances (e.g. natural disaster) you cannot pay for the services of a lawyer.
You can get additional protection if you are a victim or a witness and you are afraid that your testimony may put you or a person close to you in danger. If you have been placed under additional protection measures during the investigation these measures will continue to apply during the trial. If you have missed this opportunity you can ask the court to place you under special protection during the trial. The judge will examine your request and will decide what type of protection would be most appropriate for you.
The protection measures during the trial are the same as during the investigation and may include:
If you have been placed under additional protection your identity will be kept secret and your name will be replaced by a pseudonym in all documents related to the case. You can stay out of the courtroom and participate in the hearing through audio or videoconference.
Usually when a person placed under protection is involved in the case the court hearings are non-public. If necessary, you will be interviewed in a separate room and the interview will be broadcasted in the courtroom in a way that does not reveal your identity. You can refuse to answer questions that may reveal your identity. You can even refuse to be interviewed at all, in which case the judge will read in the courtroom the record of your interview during the investigation. You can participate in the hearing through audio conference or videoconference so that you do not need to be present in the courtroom.
You can claim financial compensation from the offender if the crime has caused you physical injury, psychological suffering or financial loss. You can submit your claim during the investigation or during the trial before the court starts examining the evidence. The claim should include a justification of the requested amount. You can submit your claim orally or in writing.
You can withdraw your claim at any time before the court starts discussing the final judgment. The withdrawal of your claim will not affect the rest of the proceedings.
If you are not satisfied with the amount of the compensation awarded by the court you can submit another claim before a civil court. When deciding on your claim the civil court will take into account the amount awarded to you during the criminal proceedings.
If you have suffered from a violent crime you can apply for financial compensation from the State. Please consult the factsheet on compensation to victims of crime in Latvia (available in English,
Latvian and other languages) of the European Judicial Network.
You can reconcile with the offender at any time before the court starts discussing the final judgement. You have to notify the judge about the conciliation you have reached. The notification can be oral or in writing. The court will take into account your conciliation and, depending on how serious the crime was, may close the case without convicting and sentencing the offender or impose a lighter penalty.
During the trial there are limited opportunities to start a mediation procedure. The State Probation Service has temporarily (until 31 December 2012) stopped providing mediation services at this stage of the proceedings but mediation can still be carried out with the involvement of NGOs.
If you are a foreigner you can benefit from all the rights described above. You also have some additional rights to facilitate your participation in the trial.
If you do not speak Latvian you can use any language you understand. The court will provide you with an interpreter free of charge.
If a document is issued in the course of the investigation, which directly concerns you, it will also be translated, free of charge. In practice, documents are usually translated orally.
You can receive legal aid free of charge if you are citizen of the European Union, you legally reside on the territory of Latvia and you cannot pay for the services of a lawyer.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
Can I appeal against a sentence or if the defendant is declared not guilty?
What rights do I have after the court sentence enters into force?
The trial will conclude with a final court decision on the case. If there is sufficient evidence that the offender has committed the crime the court will convict him/her and impose a penalty. Otherwise the defendant will be acquitted and released. You will be informed of the court’s decision and you will receive a copy of it.
As a victim, if you are not satisfied with the court’s decision you can appeal against it. You have to submit your appeal in writing. The deadline for the submission of the appeal is 10 days following the date on which you have received the copy of the decision or 20 days if the court has extended the deadline. You should formally address your appeal to the court superior to the one that issued the decision but submit it to the court whose decision you are appealing against. A full list of courts is available online at the Latvian Judicial Portal.
You will be informed about the time and place of the court hearing. You can attend the hearing and you can benefit from the same rights that are available to you during the trial.
If you are not satisfied with the decision on your appeal and you believe the court has not observed the relevant legal provisions you have the opportunity to appeal before the Senate of the Supreme Court. The deadline for appeal is ten days after you have been informed about the decision. You can ask the court to extend the deadline up to 20 days.
The Senate of the Supreme Court may decide to examine the case in a so-called “written procedure” without holding a hearing. In this case you can present your arguments only in writing.
You can also object to the written procedure and request the holding of a hearing. If the court agrees to hold a public hearing you will receive information about its time and place. You can attend the hearing and present your arguments orally to the court.
The court’s decision will enter into force after all opportunities for appeal are exhausted. You can request and receive a copy of the final court’s decision. If the offender has been ordered to pay you compensation for damages the court will provide you with a document called “writ of execution”, which you can use if the defendant refuses to pay compensation.
The law does not provide you with the opportunity to receive information about the release of the offender or to make a statement when early release is being discussed but you can continue to benefit from protection measures if you are still in danger.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
Resource Centre for Women Marta
The Legal Aid Administration is the institution responsible for the provision of legal aid and compensation to victims of crime.
The Legal Aid Administration
CONTACTS:
Website: https://www.jpa.gov.lv/par-mums-eng
The State Police receive reports for crimes from victims and perform the investigation on criminal cases.
The State Police
CONTACTS:
Website: https://www.vp.gov.lv
The State Probation Service provides the opportunity for a victim and a probation client to engage voluntarily in the process of settlement through an intermediary (victim offender mediation).
The State Probation Service
CONTACTS:
Website: https://www.vpd.gov.lv/lv
The Riga Municipal Police is responsible for the public safety in Riga.
Riga Municipal Police
CONTACTS:
Website: https://rpp.riga.lv
The Victims Support Centre is a non-governmental organisation offering legal aid and free psychological consultations to victims as well as victim-offender mediation.
The Victims Support Centre
CONTACTS:
Website: http://www.cac.lv/en
Centre Dardedze is a non-governmental organisation offering counselling and assistance for children – victims of violence.
The Centre Dardedze
CONTACTS:
Website: https://centrsdardedze.lv/en
Society Skalbes maintains a crisis telephone line 7 222 922, available 24 hours, seven days a week, offering psychological consultations and information about aid available in Latvia.
The Society Skalbes
CONTACTS:
Website: http://www.skalbes.lv/
Resource Centre for Women Marta secures support services for women victims of violence and human trafficking.
The Resource Centre for Women Marta
CONTACTS:
Website: http://www.marta.lv/
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.
The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective Member State. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. The European Commission accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.