Directive 2004/80/EC of the Council of Europe of 29 April 2004 on compensation for victims of crime, (hereinafter referred to as “the Directive”) requires the introduction at national level of a national compensation system in each Member State of the European Union which guarantees the right of victims of crime to a fair and proportionate compensation for the damage caused, regardless of where the European Community crime committed at the scene. . It aims to lay down guidelines for the establishment and functioning of the national compensation mechanism in each Member State of the European Union. Compensation for victims of intentional crime shall be paid by the competent authority of the Member State on whose territory the crime was committed .
This Directive establishes a framework for cooperation to facilitate compensation for victims of crime in cross-border cases. . Victims may apply to an institution in the Member State of their habitual residence and must ease all practical and linguistic difficulties arising from cross-border cases.
Consequently, there are two options:
the damage to the victim of has occurred as a result of a criminal offence committed in the territory of Latvia, - the Legal Aid Administration shall take a decision regarding a request by a person resident in another European Union Member State to pay compensation for the damage caused by a criminal offence committed in the territory of Latvia. The referred to request shall be submitted in Latvian or English and shall be examined in accordance with the procedures specified in the Law on State compensation for victims. The documents to be submitted to the Legal Aid Administration shall not be legalised and shall not be subject to equivalent formality. . The national compensation claim form is available at: https://jpa.gov.lv/valsts-compensaturation-request-form .
the harm caused by has occurred in the territory of another European Union Member State as a result of a criminal offence committed in the territory of a Member State of the European Union, a victim who is resident in the territory of Latvia and who has suffered harm as a result of a criminal offence committed in the territory of another Member State of the European Union has the right, directly or through the Legal Aid Administration, to submit a request for compensation of the State in the relevant European Union Member State to the competent authority of the Member State. . The Legal Aid Administration shall draw up a national compensation request in accordance with the compensation request established by the Member State of the European Union concerned and shall send the other necessary documents to the competent authority of the Member State of the European Union concerned, which shall assess the request received in accordance with the laws and regulations in force in its State. m.
- The national compensation claim form to be completed in the event of a criminal offence committed in another EU Member State is available in http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/judicialatlascivil/ .
You may receive information about the national compensation systems established in the Member States of the European Union on the website of the European Judicial Atlas: https://e-justice.europa.eu/content_compensation_to_crime_victims-448-lv.do, compensation for victims of criminal offences, Legal Aid Administration - Palace Square 4, Riga, or by calling the free informative phone 80001801.