Assistance to victims of criminal offenses to recover damages

Verified 02 July 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The criminal judge may order the offender to pay the victim damages and a sum intended to cover the costs incurred for the trial. When the convicted person does not pay, the victim may refer the case to the Service d'aide au recovery des victims d'infraction (Sarvi).

The Sarvi pay the victim part or all of the amount of the conviction, before taking responsibility for recovering the full amount of the conviction from the convicted person.

The criminal judge may order the offender to pay damages to the victim and possibly a sum to cover the costs incurred for the trial.

Where the convicted person does not pay, the victim may take the Service d'aide au recovery des victims d'infraction (Sarvi) so that he can take charge of recovering the amount of the sentence.

In order for Sarvi to intervene, all the following conditions must be met:

  • The victim is an individual who has obtained a decision from the criminal judge awarding him damages and, possibly, reimbursement of all or part of the costs of the trial.
  • The victim cannot be compensated by the Commission for the Compensation of Victims of Crime (Civi). If the victim has made a request to Civi that has been rejected, the victim can only apply to Sarvi one year after the decision to reject Civi.
  • The convicted person has not paid the amount of the conviction within 2 months after the final conviction.

Deposit

It is possible to enter the Sarvi: titleContent online or by mail.

Online

The following online service must be used:

Online application for recovery aid

By mail

The following form should be used:

Application for recovery aid

It must be sent, together with supporting documents, to this address:

Deadline

The application must be filed no later than 1 year after the final conviction.

However, Sarvi can accept an application submitted out of time for a legitimate reason.

If the Sarvi refuses to receive a request after the deadline, the civil party may refer the matter to the President of the Court no later than 1 month after receipt of the decision of the Sarvi refusing to grant the request.

Who shall I contact

The Sarvi: titleContent pay the victim part or all of the amount of the sentence.

Sentence amount: up to €1,000

Sarvi pays the full amount of the sentence.

The Sarvi shall make this payment within 2 months following receipt of the victim's request (where the request is accepted by the Sarvi).

Sentence over €1,000

Sarvi pours 30% the amount of the conviction, with at least €1,000 and maximum €3,000.

Example :

  • If the amount of the conviction is €2,500 : 2500 x 30% = 750, then Sarvi pays €1,000.
  • If the amount of the conviction is €12,000 : 12,000 x 30% = 3,600, then Sarvi pays €3,000.

The Sarvi shall make this payment within 2 months following receipt of the victim's request (where the request is accepted by the Sarvi).

The Sarvi then undertakes to obtain payment by the convicted person of the amount of the conviction, increased by a penalty.

According to the amount it collects from the convicted person, the Sarvi pays the victim the additional amount granted to him by the criminal decision.