Criminal proceedings

It is only natural that taking part in criminal proceedings can make you feel anxious and that you’ll have a number of questions. You’ll want to know what is going to happen and what you’re supposed to do.

Here you will find a brief description of the stages in a criminal case. We’ll try to give you short simple answers to questions such as “How do I report a crime?”, “How is the investigation conducted?”, “What happens in court?”, “What is an appeal?” and many others.

Crimes and criminal infringements

The Criminal Code enlists different behaviors that are punished by the state. Most of them are called crimes – these are dangerous behaviors that the state can punish for by deprivation of liberty (however not necessarily, deprivation of liberty usually goes only as one of punishments that might be imposed). The less dangerous criminal acts are called criminal infringements, they cannot be punished by deprivation of liberty, however, can carry a punishment of arrest (deprivation of liberty for up to 90 days). As you can see, crimes and criminal infringements differ only in punishments that can be imposed for these two categories of criminal acts, thus further in the text the term “crime” will be used to cover both crimes and criminal infringements.

It should also be noted that some acts that the state punish for are listed not in the Criminal Code, but in the Code of Administrative Infringements instead. For example this is the case with minor thefts, they are punished according to the Code of Administrative Infringements. Thus in case you feel that your rights and interests have been harmed it is worth checking whether the Criminal Code or the Code of Administrative Infringements provide for the punishment of the culprit. The state must help you both in cases if you have suffered either from a criminal act or administrative infringement. However, this book speaks about criminal acts only. Thus, if you think that you have suffered from an administrative infringement, it could be best to get a legal consultation on the issue. You can find about the steps to be taken in order to receive free legal aid here.

Reporting a crime

There is no duty established by laws to report every crime you happen to know. It is also no general duty to report to authorities every crime you have suffered yourself. It is your right, and not your duty, to report the crime you have suffered. However, it is different when talking about grave crimes (murders, severe health impairments, rapes and sexual assaults of young children, and some others). If you fail to report about a grave crime that you know about, you would be considered to commit a crime yourself, even you are the one who has suffered the damage through the crime not reported.

However please note that even when the crime you have suffered was not a grave one, you would help yourself and others by reporting it. In many cases report of a victim is the only way for law enforcement agencies to find out that the crime has been committed. Thus if you decide not to report, you will lose a legal opportunity to get the damage you’ve suffered to be compensated. Moreover, if you do not report and let the culprit get away with his or her crime, it can mean providing him or her with an opportunity to hurt somebody else. So please think carefully about reporting all the crimes you have suffered or got to know about.

If you would like to talk to someone before making your decision, victim support services are available to provide information and advice.

There are several reasons why you might be unwilling to report a crime:

“It wasn’t important”. Even a minor crime or criminal infringement can be distressing and upsetting. The authorities know this and will take your complaint seriously.

“It’s embarrassing”. You may be ashamed to report the crime. This often happens in cases of sexual or domestic violence. Authorities will understand how you feel and will not judge you.

“The authorities don’t care”. The authorities have many cases and may not deal with yours as quickly as you would expect, but they will give it the proper attention. They may not always be able to identify or catch the person responsible for the crime, but their duty is always to try.

“It’s over and it hasn’t affected me”. If the crime has not had much impact on you, all the better. Some people are able to cope well with these difficult situations and act almost as if nothing had happened, even when a serious crime was committed against them. Nevertheless, if you don’t report the crime, the authorities will not be able to try to catch the person who committed the crime and he/she might do it again. You should consider the fact that the next victim might not be as able as you are to overcome the effects of the crime.

“I’m worried about what will happen next”. It’s normal to feel nervous about having to go to the police, make a statement and then go to court to testify, but don’t forget that help is available to you throughout the entire process. Whatever you decide to do, you are entitled to support. Even if you don’t report the crime against you, it is very important that you talk to someone about what happened and how you feel, and that you receive all the help you need.

The importance of reporting a crime

If you were the victim of a crime, it is very important that you report it to the authorities. If you do so, it is more likely that the person who committed the crime will be caught, held responsible and prevented from doing the same thing again, to you or to others.

Most of crimes are to be investigated even when victims do no report them to police. However the laws provide that pre-trial investigation of certain crimes and criminal infringements can only be started when victims themselves apply to police.

Furthermore, it may be necessary to have reported the crime to be able to claim your rights to insurance or compensation, for example.

There is no duty established by laws to report every crime you happen to know. It is also no general duty to report to authorities every crime you have suffered yourself. It is your right, and not your duty, to report the crime you have suffered. However, it is different when talking about grave crimes (murders, severe health impairments, rapes and sexual assaults of young children, and some others). If you fail to report about a grave crime that you know about, you would be considered to commit a crime yourself, even you are the one who has suffered the damage through the crime not reported.

However please note that even when the crime you have suffered was not a grave one, you would help yourself and others by reporting it. In many cases report of a victim is the only way for law enforcement agencies to find out that the crime has been committed. Thus if you decide not to report, you will lose a legal opportunity to get the damage you’ve suffered to be compensated. Moreover, if you do not report and let the culprit get away with his or her crime, it can mean providing him or her with an opportunity to hurt somebody else. So please think carefully about reporting all the crimes you have suffered or got to know about.

Reporting the crime to the authorities is also important for the purposes of crime statistics and general prevention or even for holding specific activities in certain cases and places to promote safety.

If you would like to talk to someone before making your decision, victim support services are available to provide information and advice.

There are several reasons why you might be unwilling to report a crime:

“It wasn’t important”.
Even a minor crime can be distressing and upsetting. The authorities know this and will take your complaint seriously.

“It’s embarrassing”.
You may be ashamed to report the crime. This often happens in cases of sexual or domestic violence. Authorities should deal with these situations sensitively and not judge you. Whatever your gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality or ethnicity, being a victim of crime can be traumatic.

“The authorities don’t care”.
The authorities have many cases and may not deal with yours as quickly as you would expect, but they will give it the proper attention. They may not always be able to identify or catch the person responsible for the crime, but their duty is always to try.

“It’s over and it hasn’t affected me”.
If the crime has not had much impact on you, all the better. Some people are able to cope well with these difficult situations and act almost as if nothing had happened, even when a serious crime was committed against them. Nevertheless, if you don’t report the crime, the authorities will not be able to try to catch the person who committed the crime and he/she might do it again. You should consider the fact that the next victim might not be as able as you are to overcome the effects of the crime.

“I’m worried about what will happen next”.
It’s normal to feel nervous about having to go to the police, make a statement and then go to court to testify, but don’t forget that help is available to you throughout the entire process.

Whatever you decide to do, you are entitled to support. Even if you don’t report the crime against you, it is very important that you talk to someone about what happened and how you feel, and that you receive all the help you need.

How to report a crime

You can file your complaint or report on the crime you have suffered (as well as on any other crime that you know about) with any of the following entities:
- the General Prosecutor’s Office, district prosecutor’s offices or their units (the list and contact details of them could be found here);
- the Police Department under the Ministry of the Interior, county and district police headquarters (the list and contact details of them could be found here);
- in some specific cases you can also report harms suffered to other pre-trial investigation bodies, such as State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior, Special Investigation Service of the Republic of Lithuania, Financial Crime Investigation Service under the Ministry of the Interior, and some others.

Each of these authorities has a duty to receive all the complaints and reports made to them. They are prohibited by law to decline a report submitted even in cases when a) the crime was not committed within their territorial area, or b) they lack competence to carry out pre-trial investigation in cases of specific crimes, or c) they consider that the process would be smoother if you apply to some other institution.

You can also notify the police about a criminal act to by phone 112 in cases of emergencies, by SMS or MMS by phone +370 614 34567 in cases when no imminent danger is present (however this number is not to be used for phone calls). However in these cases the police would not consider that you have formally submitted a report or complaint about a crime, and you would not acquire the specific rights, e.g. the right to be notified about the decisions taken whether to start pre-trial investigation and the right to appeal them.

Another option is to report crimes through the web page epolicija.lt. In this case the person reporting a crime has to fill a form provided online either by help of electronic means of identification, or anonymously. In case an electronic mean of identification has been used, the form is acknowledged to be a formal report to the police, and you shall be notified about the steps taken by the police in regard of the report. The same applies to reports submitted by email to address epolicija@policija.lt. Once again, you can either sign it with your electronic means of identification, or not. The reports submitted are not considered formal ones and do not provide you with the right to receive information on decisions taken and the right to appeal them (even if you provide all the details on your identity but do not sign it with the help of your electronic means of identification). On the other hand, if you wish to report a criminal act but are reluctant to reveal your identity, you may do so anonymously.

You can file a complaint or report even if you don’t know who committed the crime. It is for the authorities to then investigate and ascertain the identity of the offender. However, please note that the more factual details about the criminal act you provide, the higher are the chances that pre-trial investigation bodies will find the culprit and the evidence of his/her guilt. You should also note that false reports about crimes are crimes under the Criminal Code of Lithuania, however only in cases when these acts have been committed intentionally, i.e. when the person knows that certain facts have not taken place and still tells the police that certain crime has been committed.

It doesn’t have to be the victim that reports crimes and criminal infringements. Anyone who knows of the criminal act can do so and this is sufficient for pre-trial investigation bodies to initiate criminal proceedings, even if the victim doesn’t wish to press charges. However the Code of Criminal Procedure establishes some exceptions to this rule – investigation of some crimes are carried out only in case the victim or his/her legal representative submits a formal complaint, e.g. in cases of negligible bodily injuries, negligent non-aggravated bodily injuries, sexual harassments, non-aggravated rapes, minor thefts, minor frauds, minor property damages, and some other criminal acts. In the latter cases the complaint (unlike the report of the crime) may be withdrawn by the victim. The application to withdraw the complaint must be submitted to the authority responsible for the proceedings at that time, i.e. the prosecutor during the stage of pre-trial investigation or the judge during the trial.

It is best to notify pre-trial investigation bodies about the crime suffered directly after they have been committed, or, if you have noticed the harm later, directly after you find out that you have suffered from a criminal act. Reporting the crime in a timely manner would increase chances that the culprit and the evidence of his/her guilt will be found. However, the Criminal Code establishes long terms for reporting crimes, they depend on the gravity of criminal acts. For example, pre-trial investigation in regard of criminal infringements cannot be started only if more than 3 years have passed since the alleged infringement has been committed, while in case of homicides the corresponding term is 30 years.

Pre-trial investigation

Once the crime is reported law enforcement agency starts pre-trial investigation. Pre-trial investigation encompasses all the actions aimed at ascertaining whether there was a crime, who committed it, and finding and gathering evidence of the guilt of the culprit. Pre-trial investigation is usually carried out by police; however, every pre-trial investigation is to be supervised by a prosecutor. The prosecutor can decide to take over the pre-trial investigation and to carry it himself/herself or can decide to perform certain acts of the investigation himself or herself. Thus, all what has been said below about the functions of pre-trial investigation officers would also apply to prosecutors who have decided to perform these functions himself or herself.

Every pre-trial investigation starts with a formal decision of a pre-trial investigation officer to launch investigation. In case you have submitted a formal report to pre-trial investigation institution about the criminal act suffered, you will be notified in writing both in case a decision to launch pre-trial investigation has been taken, and in case pre-trial investigation officer has decided not to proceed with the case. One of these decisions shall be taken by the pre-trial investigation officer in 10 days after your report has been submitted at the latest. Please note that you have a right to appeal decision of the pre-trial officer to a prosecutor, and, in case the prosecutor does not change the decision, you can appeal the decision to a pre-trial judge.

However, please note that the time frame for appeals is rather short – 7 days in both cases. Please also note that the Code of Criminal Procedures establishes that the person who has applied for a pre-trial investigation to be started has a right to access the data that the decision not to start the pre-trial investigation was based upon.

When the pre-trial investigation starts, most probably you will receive a formal writ of summons from a pre-trial investigation officer to appear for questioning. However, the Code of Criminal Procedure allows phone calls or emails to be used instead of written documents for this aim and this is quite common in practice. You are obliged by law to be present at a certain place and time indicated by the pre-trial investigation officer or the prosecutor. The Code of Criminal Procedure admits that there could be exceptional circumstances that justify your absence at the time and place for questioning indicated. However, these circumstances shall be exceptional.

The pre-trial investigation officer performing the questioning shall explain your rights and duties first and will ask you to sign the document that states that you have been informed about your rights.

Further, the pre-trial investigation officer will fill a form that will state that you have been afforded the status of an injured party in the case.

You should note that all the rights of the injured party (victim) are acquired from the moment this form is signed. Until then rights of victims do not differ from rights of witnesses. However, you should take into account that, although the form filled will state the damage you have suffered because of the crime, the culprit will have to compensate the damage caused only if you will submit a specific document – civil claim in a criminal case. On the other hand, you don’t have to submit the civil claim immediately. You can even wait till the end of pre-trial investigation and submit it then.

However, if you have suffered from a violent crime and would like to apply for compensation paid by the state to victims of violent crimes, you should not hesitate. You can apply for an advance compensation no later than 10 days after the violent crime has been committed. Furthermore, when applying for compensation, you shall provide a decision of the pre-trial officer to acknowledge you the status of a civil claimant. It is natural that civil claim shall be submitted first.

Please note that in cases of sexual crimes, domestic abuse, trafficking in human beings, and some other crimes, you can request the questioning to be performed by an officer of the same gender as yours. However, the officer can decline such a request. The rule does not apply when a questioning is performed by a prosecutor.

The officer then will suggest you telling about all the circumstances of the case in your own words.

The officer is allowed to give you questions about the circumstances of the case only after you end telling what you want to say about the case. However, that does not mean that you are obliged to speak first and get questions afterwards. You are free to request the questioning official to proceed with his or her questions directly. During the questioning the official will type your answers and will ask you to sign the record of the questioning afterwards.

It is quite possible, especially if you have suffered a violent crime, that the pre-trial investigation officer leading the questioning will decide to examine your body in order to identify whether there are signs of the crime suffered on it, and will request you to give samples of your saliva, blood, etc. that could serve as evidence in the case. Please note that if you are required to undress for the examination, the pre-trial investigation officer shall be of the same gender as you. In case the officer leading the questioning is of a different gender, he or she shall call a colleague or a doctor to perform the bodily check or to take the samples. In some cases, especially in cases of sexual violence, a thorough medical examination can be necessary after the questioning. These examinations are performed by the State Forensic Medicine Service.

During the first questioning the pre-trial investigation officer will ask you some questions to assess whether you face some risks in regard of the case and whether special protection measures shall be applied to protect you. In case the suspect has been detained, you will be notified about that and will be asked whether you wish to be informed in case the suspect will be released from detention or will escape.

One of the special protection measures that could be taken to guarantee your safety when certain risks have been detected is to ask the questioning of yours to be performed by a judge of pre-trial investigation. Usually, that means that if you provide your testimony to a judge during pre-trial procedure, you will not have to go and testify at the court afterwards, your testimony would be read by the judge or audio/video recording of it would be plaid during the court hearing. However, there are quite a few exceptions to this rule when the judge during court hearing requests to question the injured party (victim) again.

Expenses that you will suffer to be present at the questioning shall be covered by the pre-trial investigation body that carries out the pre-trial investigation. You should submit a written application for compensation of the expenses, add all the supporting documents (travel tickets, parking tickets, etc.) and ask the pre-trial investigation officer to state in writing that the questioning did take place and that expenses are related to the questioning.

You will have a right to receive information on progress of the pre-trial investigation of your case and the right to access the documents gathered in the case. However, you must formally apply to the prosecutor in order to get the information and to get the access to the file. The Code of Criminal Procedure also establishes that access to the file can be declined in case it could jeopardize success of the investigation. Still, you can appeal such a decision to the judge of pre-trial investigation.

The pre-trial investigation may last from few weeks to several months, depending on the amount of evidence to be gathered and the complexity of the investigation. It may be necessary for pre-trial investigation officers to talk to the injured parties (victims) more than once during the investigation. Please note that if you have been summoned for a second questioning it does not mean that you have done something wrong during the first one. Usually the need for a second questioning arises after pre-trial investigation detects new facts and new circumstances that you have not been asked about during the first questioning.

Closing the pre-trial investigation

Pre-trial investigation can end in two ways.

First, the prosecutor supervising the pre-trial investigation of your case can decide that evidence gathered is not sufficient to charge the person suspected in the case with the crime investigated and there are no chances to gather more evidence of his or her guilt. There can also be a situation when it stays unknown who could be suspected with the crime. In these cases the prosecutor decides to terminate the pre-trial investigation and shall notify you as the injured party about his or her decision. You have the right to appeal the decision to the senior prosecutor in 20 days after you are notified about it. In case the senior prosecutor upholds the decision, you have the right to appeal the decision to a judge of pre-trial investigation. Once again, you would have 20 days for the appeal. You have the right to appeal the decision of the pre-trial judge also. In the latter case you would have to apply to a court of a higher instance, however, would have only 7 days for the appeal. The Code of Criminal Procedure establishes that the injured parties have a right to access the data that the decision to terminate pre-trial investigation was based upon. Please consider that usually decisions of prosecutors to terminate pre-trial investigations are well grounded. Thus, when deciding to appeal it would be best to assure representation of your interests by a practicing lawyer or to consult a professional lawyer at least. Please also note that terminated pre-trial investigations can be renewed afterwards in case new substantial evidence emerge.

Second, the prosecutor can decide that there is enough evidence gathered to proceed with the case to the court. In this case the prosecutor writes a bill of indictment and lays formal charges against the culprit in it. You then have a right to access the whole file of the case, however only if you apply for it in writing. The prosecutor then either provides you with a copy of the file or sets a reasonable time-limit for you to review the file. After this step is taken the case goes to the court for trial.

There are two more options to close pre-trial investigation through simplified proceedings: the procedure of a penal order and a fast-track procedure. They are applied in cases when the circumstances of the crime are clear and there is enough evidence to prove the guilt of the defendant.

The trial

If the suspect was charged at the end of the pre-trial investigation the case moves on to the trial in court. The trial is a hearing by one or three judges that takes place in a courtroom, usually with presence of all the parties involved – the defendant, the prosecutor, the injured party, the witnesses, civil claimants, civil defendants, and others. Usually court hearings are open to the public, thus everybody can come and see the trial taking place. It is always worthy to have friends or other close ones to accompany you to the court, please consider that it could be a stressful experience.

Cases of negligent and lesser intentional crimes are heard by district courts. Cases of serious and grave crimes are to be heard by regional courts. However, there are some exceptions to this general rule set by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The purpose of the trial is to decide whether there is enough evidence to convict the defendant of the crime he or she is charged with, and if so, to impose a sentence. At the trial, the court also decides whether the injured party and any other people who suffered losses because of the crime are entitled to have the losses covered, however only in case they have submitted civil claims in the case.

Scheduling the trial

After receiving the case file, the judge (who is not necessarily the same judge as the examining judge) schedules the trial date and place. The court hearing shall take pace not later than 15 days after the bill of indictment has been forwarded to the court (in some exceptional cases this term can be prolonged up to 3 months).

Preparing for the trial

It is only natural that most people get nervous and anxious when the day of the trial is coming. Taking part in the procedure when your sufferings and losses are discussed and evaluated by others is stressful. However, you can reduce the level of your stress if you take certain steps to prepare for the trial.

If you get the chance, go to the courtroom a few days before the trial so you become familiar with different areas, such as the courtroom and the witness waiting room and, if possible, attend another trial or at least part of it.

On the day of the trial, you are likely to meet the defendant and his or her friends and relatives. You should prepare for this possibility by planning in advance what you should do: trying to keep away from them, not reacting to any provocation, applying for the help of the court staff. Please note that usually the police are not present at court hearings.

At the trial you will be asked questions by the judge, the Public Prosecutor, the defense lawyer, and your own lawyer, if you have one. It is natural that you will be asked to provide as much detail as possible, because the more information the court has, the better its decision will be. What the judge expects you to do is to tell the court what happened in your own words. Therefore, before the trial, you should try to arrange in your mind all the information you think it is important to transmit to the court. You could also take some notes with you, such as the dates of the most relevant facts. It is normal that you will not remember some details, especially if some time has gone by since the day of the crime. In these cases, don’t be afraid to admit that you do not remember something. The laws consider it to be a crime to provide false statements at the court proceedings, i.e., everyone may be punished for not telling the truth when knowing that he or she is lying. But nobody can blame you neither legally nor in any other way for not remembering something. Thus, do not be afraid of situations when you have no answers to the questions asked.

Don’t forget that if you were the victim of a crime, attending the trial can play an important part in your recovery. Criminal behavior is neither accepted nor tolerated by society and the trial plays a key role in conveying this message: those who break the law must be held responsible and suffer the consequences.

Finally, expenses that you will suffer to be present at the trial shall be covered by the court. You should submit a written application for compensation of the expenses to the court where the hearing takes place and should add all the supporting documents (travel tickets, parking tickets, etc.).

What happens if you miss the trial

You will be summoned to the court hearing either by a formal letter or the court staff can contact you by phone, e-mail, or other means of communication. Please note that, in case you are summoned by a formal letter, you can suffer a penalty for not being present at the place and time indicated in the letter. A fine can be imposed upon you for not being present at the hearing without a reasoned excuse. The court may even order the police to detain you and bring you to court.

Usually, the need to be present at your workplace, or having some other important tasks on the day of the court hearing do not count as an excuse. However, if you see that there are no chances to get to the hearing at the date indicated, do your best to contact and inform the court in advance. If you have received a formal letter, there are always phone numbers for contacting the court staff indicated, so you should call them immediately when you see obstacles for participation.

Please also note that in case you are not present at the court hearing, the judge or judges can decide to have the hearing even without you when it is clear that your absence does not obstruct proper examination of all circumstances of the case and does not preclude guaranteeing your interests. If the court decides this way you would have no legal chance to appeal such a decision, even if the reasons for you to be absent were serious and justified. Of course, you would not lose the right to appeal the judgment passed, however it is always better to exploit all the rights to protect your interests provided by the laws.

Where and when to go

If you have received a formal letter to attend a trial, you must go to the place stated on the date indicated. Do plan your trip to the court in advance by getting information about its exact location and estimating the travel time. Please note that most of district courts have premises even in different towns (called “palaces of district courts”). Thus if your case is to be heard by a district court, you should check even more carefully the address the trial will take place. However, it would be an exceptional situation if a formal letter would not indicate the exact address and even room number where you case will be heard.

Who may attend

Trials are almost always open to the public, that is, anyone can go into the courtroom and attend the hearing. There are a few exceptions, however, such as in cases where a defendant or an injured party (victim) is a juvenile, cases involving sexual crimes, and other cases where there are needs to have hearings closed to the public in order to guarantee special protection needs of the injured parties (victims) and witnesses, or to protect disclosure of data on private lives of the injured parties (victims), defendants, or other persons involved in the case. You also have a right to ask the court for a decision to have the hearing or a part of the hearing closed to the public in case you can provide reasons for such a decision. Please note that the laws establish that injured parties are entitled to have an accompanying person even in hearings closed to the public.

The courtroom

The trial hearings in district courts are presided over by the judge, however in some exceptional cases the chairman of the district court can form a panel of three judges for the case. The trial hearings in regional courts are heard by panels of three judges, one of them acting as a presiding judge.

The other people present at the trial are:

  • the prosecutor
  • the defendant and the defense lawyer
  • the injured party (victim) and his or her lawyer
  • the civil parties
  • the witnesses
  • the specialists and experts
  • the secretary of the court hearing
  • the interpreter.

The beginning of the trial

The laws establish a general rule that every case shall be heard in one hearing. However, it is natural that many cases are difficult enough to be heard in one day. In these cases a schedule of the hearing, indicating all the breaks to be made, is usually set before the start of the trial procedure. A break can last for several days or even weeks, however not longer than a month. The laws require courts to avoid any unnecessary breaks. However sometimes even hearings planned cannot be held, e.g., when a defendant or a witness that has to give important testimony do not come to the hearing. In these cases breaks in hearings are made or a hearing can even be postponed. In the latter case when a hearing is renewed it shall start anew, i.e. all the previous questionings, testimonies, examination of documents and other evidence shall be repeated.

Absence of the injured party can also be a ground to postpone hearing or to make a break in it, however not necessarily – the laws establish that the hearing can be held even when the injured party (victim) is absent, if the court decides that his or her absence does not preclude comprehensive examination of all the circumstances of the case and protection of the interests of the injured party.

Please note, that the laws do not set any limits on the duration of the whole trial procedure, however establish a general rule that every court shall seek to examine every case in the shortest time possible.

There is a general rule that all audio and video recordings at the hearings are prohibited. However injured parties (victims), their representatives, and other participants of the case are allowed to make audio (not video) recordings. If you wish to make an audio recording, you shall notify the judge or the president of the panel of judges about that in advance. You can be prohibited to make audio recordings however if the judge decides that it would obstruct the hearing. Please note that you are not allowed to share the recordings made with anyone.

The trial starts by the judge or the panel of judges entering the room where the hearing takes place. The laws require every person present in the room to stand up when the judge or the panel of judges are entering (the same rule applies at the time when the judge or panel of judges are leaving the room). After that, the judge formally informs what case will be heard and asks the secretary of the court hearing to indicate who are present at the hearing, and what reasons persons summoned but not present at the hearing have provided to justify their absence. Then the judge or panel of judges decide whether hearing is still possible without the absent participants of the case.

In case the judge or the panel of judges decide to proceed with the hearing, they will inform the participants of the case (including you as the injured party and your representative) about their rights during the trial and will explain in their own words what is the essence of every right.

After that examination of evidence starts. Please note that it is the last moment in the whole procedure that you can still bring a civil claim in the case and request disqualification of a judge, a prosecutor, an interpreter, an expert, and some other officials in the case.

The examination of evidence

All the evidence must be examined at the trial to make experience of the judge and other participants with the evidence as direct as possible. One of the basic principles of the whole trial procedure is that every evidence shall be presented in the hearing in oral. That means that every document in the case file shall be read. All the participants of the case, including you as the injured party, will have to go through questionings at the court and most probably – to answer the same questions that you have already been asked during the pre-trial procedure. Laws however provide for some cases when the answers provided at pre-trial questionings shall be read at trial. This is to be done when the persons to be questioned are absent at the trial due to justified reasons, or they decline to provide answers, or they state that do not remember the circumstances they have already been asked during the pre-trial questionings, or the answers they are giving at the trial significantly differ from the answers they have given at the pre-trial questioning. In cases when needs of protection of injured parties (victims) require to avoid questioning of the injured party during the court hearings, the court may decide that reading of the records of the injured party would be enough (however only in cases when the questioning at the pre-trial investigation stage was led by a judge of pre-trial investigation). As an alternative, the court can also decide that playing audio or video recording of the pre-trial questioning of the injured party would suffice.

The first person to talk during the examination of evidence is prosecutor. He or she will read the bill of indictment. Sometimes, when the bills of indictment are very long, prosecutors are allowed to present a summary of the bill of indictment only.

Afterwards the defendant will be questioned. The court will first ask the defendant to tell in his or her own words how he or she sees the case. Afterwards, the court will give the floor to other participants of the case to give questions to the defendant. The prosecutor usually is the first to give questions to the defendant. However, you as the injured party and your representative can also pose questions to him or her. Please note that the questions you can ask shall relate to the circumstances of the case, you should be ready to explain what relation between the question and the circumstances of the case you envisage in case the defendant or the defense lawyer object the question as an irrelevant one.

If the defendant confesses to the facts charged against him or her, further examination of evidence can be terminated by the court. However this is an option only in cases when a) the court considers circumstances of the case to raise no doubt in regard of the guilt of the defendant, plus, b) the defendant and the defense lawyer, and the prosecutor agree on such an option, and c) the defendant is not charged with a grave crime. The opinion of the injured party (victim) on this point will not be asked. However, you can appeal such a decision of the court to the court of the higher instance.

If the defendant does not confess, then in general the injured party (victim) is called to testify. In some cases when special protection needs of the injured party require such steps to be taken, the defendant and other participants of the case could be asked to leave the room where the hearing takes place. However, please note that the persons asked to leave will be provided with an opportunity to see and hear the testimony from some other premises.

You should give all your answers to the court in standing position. The judge will first ask questions about your identity. Then he or she will explain your duty to tell the court everything you know about the case, and the responsibility that you could face for false testimonies. Then you will be asked to give an oath to tell the truth and not to conceal anything. You will be asked to sign the text of the oath. Then the court will suggest you telling everything you know about the case in your own words. Please note that you should tell the court the facts you have faced yourself, you should not share any information if you cannot tell where you’ve got this information from. The laws allow you to use notes, however only in cases when your testimony relates to figures or some other data that is difficult to remember. That means you cannot have your testimony drafted as a speech to read. The judge or other participants of the case are allowed by laws to request you to show them what you have on paper with you.

Next, the judge will ask other participants of the case to give you questions. Please note that even persons who have been requested to leave the room for the time of your questioning can give you questions. In this case they will forward their questions to the judge and the judge will read them. It is normal for the prosecutor, the defense lawyers, and other participants of the case to interrupt your responses. It may be necessary to give a better or more detailed explanation of some aspects that are less clear. It is also possible that you may feel uncomfortable with some questions asked by the defense lawyer and think that they are challenging what you went through. Don’t forget that the defense lawyer has an obligation to defend his or her client’s interests, thus his or her questions are not personal. Stay calm and do not try to calculate what answers would be good or bad. There are never bad answers. However, there can be bad questions. If any question exceeds the acceptable boundaries, it is for the judge to interrupt and dismiss it. If you feel that any of the participants is being rude or aggressive, convey your feeling to the judge.

Furthermore, the witnesses, specialists and experts are questioned almost the same way as the defendant and the injured party (victim). The judge will also read all the documents that are in the file of the case and will inspect all the material evidence that are in the file of the case. The court can also decide that some additional investigative acts (e.g., examination of evidence given at the place of the crime, experiments, expertises, etc.) are necessary. The judge or the panel of judges can decide either to perform certain investigative acts themselves or to request prosecutors to carry out these acts. Other participants of the case, including you as the injured party, can also apply to the court for certain investigative acts to be performed or certain other witnesses to be questioned.

How does the trial end

After the examination of evidence ends, the closing statements are made by the prosecutor, the injured party and his or her representative, parties of the civil claim, defense lawyer or the defendant himself or herself in case a defendant lawyer is not present in the case. This time there is no prohibition set by laws to have a statement written beforehand. Please note that laws do not limit the length of closing statements, the judges are also not allowed by law to terminate your statement because it seems too long to them. However, the judges can terminate every closing statement in case they consider it to be unrelated to the circumstances of the case. There is no possibility provided in law to give questions to the participants of the case after they present their closing statements. However, you can comment on certain aspects of the statements of other participants of the case after all the statements are made.

When the closing statements are made, the defendant is provided with an opportunity for his or her last word. The laws do not allow to give any questions to the defendant after he or she has told the last word. After it the judges leave the room to take the final decision on the case in secrecy.

If the case is a simple one and the decision is easy, the judge or the panel of judges may announce their decision in a half an hour. However, it is more common for the judge or the panel of judges to schedule a date for reading the decision. Usually, the decision shall be pronounced not later than in 14 days after the hearing ends, however in particularly complex and voluminous cases it can take even up to 45 days.

Every judgment passed by a court shall be pronounced publicly, even in cases when the hearing was closed to the public. However, the court cannot pronounce publicly the data acknowledged to be non-public even if it is mentioned in the judgment.

The judgement

The judgment is the decision in the proceedings and includes the facts which the judge considers proven, and the evidence on which it was based. The court can pass either an inculpatory (in case it finds the defendant guilty) or an exculpatory judgment (in case it finds the defendant not guilty). There is also a third option for the court – to terminate the case if the court finds that there were certain grounds to excuse the defendant for the crime committed.

In case the civil claim has been lodged in the case, the inculpatory judgment also indicates the damages to be covered. When an exculpatory judgment is passed the court can either dismiss a civil claim (if the court decides that the defendant did not commit the acts incriminated) or leaves the civil claim to be decided through a civil procedure (if the court decides that the acts incriminated to the defendant did not constitute a crime).

You are entitled to receive a copy of the judgment, however, should request it from the court. Even if you were not present at the court when the judgment was being pronounced, you can request the court to send a copy of it to you. The court is obliged by laws to send a copy in 5 days after you have asked for it.

Judgments become binding only after the term of 20 days afforded for lodging of appeals end. After this term ends and no appeals are lodged, execution of a judgment starts.

Simplified proceedings

In addition to the trial, there are two types of simplified proceedings: the procedure of a penal order and a fast-track procedure.

First, the laws provide that in cases when the suspect covers or agrees to cover all the damages caused by the crime, the prosecutor in the end of pre-trial investigation can apply to a court for a penal order, i.e. for a punishment to be imposed without a trial. The prosecutor proposes the court a punishment to be inflicted upon the culprit (however a penalty of deprivation of liberty cannot be proposed). This procedure is being applied only if the suspect agrees to it. The injured parties can object the procedure to be applied. You shall be notified by the prosecutor that his or her application to a court for a penal order has been submitted and then you have 7 days to appeal the decision of the prosecutor to a pre-trial judge. Please note that the court is not obliged to impose the punishment suggested by the prosecutor, the court is free to decide what punishment would suit the crime best.

The defendant can object the penal order issued by the court and to request a trial to be held. The injured parties however do not have a right to request a trial in case they are not satisfied with the penal order issued. The Code of Criminal Procedure does not even provide for a right to appeal the penal order to a court of higher instance. Thus, in case you are not so confident that your interests have been already assured through compensation of the damage or through culprit’s promises to compensate, it would be best to object the procedure of penal order itself before it reaches the court.

Second, there is an option for a prosecutor to close pre-trail investigation by applying for fast-track procedure in cases of less serious crimes. Instead of going through full pre-trial investigation and writing a bill of indictment in the end of it, prosecutor can apply to a district court (this procedure cannot be used in regional courts) for a case to be tried in a fast-track procedure. When this procedure is applied the case in court is tried without questioning victims and injured parties. It does not matter whether the culprit agrees that this procedure is applied or not, or whether interests of the injured party (victim) are taken into account when deciding to launch a fast-track procedure.

The determining factor is whether the court considers circumstances of the case to be clear enough and the prosecutor manages to apply to a court in 14 days after pre-trial investigation has been formally started. You as an injured party will be notified by a prosecutor when and where the case will be tried, however, the prosecutor will also inform you that your absence at the hearing will not be required and would not preclude the hearing, you will not have a duty to be present and won’t need to provide any reasons for your absence.

Of course, you have a right to appeal the district court’s decision on fast-track procedure to a regional court. However there can be situations where court’s decision to apply fast-track procedure and the judgment are passed the same day, thus in the latter situations the only option left in case you are unsatisfied with the judgment is a formal appeal of the judgment to a regional court.

Appeals

Injured parties (victims) and their representatives can appeal every judgment passed by the court. It does not matter whether it was inculpatory or exculpatory. All the appeals should be submitted to the court that the trial took place, however this court is obliged to forward all appeals to the court of a higher instance. If you wish to appeal the judgment you have to do that in 20 days after the judgment has been pronounced. This time limit can be restored after it has ended in case the court which has passed the judgment decides that there were substantial grounds for you to miss the time limit. Please note that the judgment can be appealed by other participants of the case also. On the other hand, you can withdraw the appeal at any time of the appeal procedure, however before the appeal procedure ends.

The appeals can be examined by different courts of a higher instance: regional courts in cases of judgments passed by district courts, and the Court of Appeal of Lithuania in cases of judgments passed by regional courts. Appeals are examined either in oral or in written procedure and the type of procedure depends on many aspects of your case. However, the laws establish that oral procedure shall be followed every time when at least one participant of the case requests it.

The appeal procedure does not mean that examination of the case starts anew. The circumstances of the case are examined only if they relate to the issues questioned in the appeal itself. However, please note that you may not be the only one who appeals the judgment. Thus, issues not related to the appeal you have submitted, may be examined because an appeal of the sentenced or acquitted person or of some other participant of the case relates to them.

After the court of the higher instance has examined all the appeals it has a number of options to decide. First, quite often the judgments appealed are left unchanged. Second, the court examining the appeals can change the judgment passed or to pass a new judgment itself. And third, the court examining the appeal can decide that the whole case shall be tried anew and can send the case back to the court that has already held the trial.

The judgments passed by an appeal court become binding from the moment they are pronounced, and execution of the judgments start immediately. However, the laws still afford an opportunity for the injured parties and other participants of the case to apply for a review of the judgments by the Supreme Court of Lithuania.

The Supreme Court of Lithuania reviews cases only if the application for the review provides sufficient legal arguments revealing that the court of the first instance and the court of appeal has applied criminal laws incorrectly or that there were substantial infringements of the laws on criminal procedure. That means that you cannot ground your application for review on factual circumstances of the case and shall concentrate on legal aspects of decisions in the former trial and appeal only.

Tips on testifying for victims and witnesses

Always tell the truth: Telling the truth is describing everything that happened in as much detail as you can remember. You have such an obligation.

If anyone threatens or intimidates you or tries to attack you after you testify, report it to the police immediately. If someone has threatened or intimidated you or tried to attack you before you testify, then, besides reporting it to the police, you should also tell about what happened when testifying.

Listen carefully to the questions you are asked: Wait until the end of the question before replying.

It is natural to feel afraid, nervous and tearful: Testifying is an experience that can make anyone anxious and frightened. Talking about the crime or answering questions about the crime you witnessed (or were a victim of) is not a pleasant task, because it forces you to remember things you would like to forget and ‘erase’ from your memory. One of the reactions that can occur is crying. Don’t feel ashamed about this. Your reaction will be understood, as it has already happened to many people in the same situation.

Take as much time as you need to think about the question you were asked and about your answer.

If you feel tired or overly nervous, you can either request a break to go to the toilet or ask for a glass of water and a tissue.

Respond slowly and calmly to all the questions using short clear sentences.

Don’t be afraid of the defendant or let his/her presence inhibit you. Avoid looking at him/her while answering the questions. Look only at the person asking you the question. If you’d rather speak without him/her being there, you can say so to the judge. If the judge thinks this is reasonable, the defendant may be removed from the room while you are speaking.

Do not be afraid to say everything you know and all the details you can remember. All the information you can provide may be important to finding out what happened.

If, in order to describe what happened, you need to use less appropriate words, such as swear words used by the defendant during the crime, you should do so. The witness isn’t being accused of anything: the witness hasn’t committed any crime. The only person being accused is the defendant. The witness is there to help the authorities gather important information so that they can make the right decisions.

Reply only to what you are asked. Don’t try to please whoever is asking the questions by providing information about subjects with which you are not familiar.

It is natural that during the trial some of what is said or some of the questions you are asked may cause you discomfort, if you feel that what you went through is being challenged. Keep in mind that this may be part of the defendant’s defense strategy, so try to stay calm and not let it affect you.

Don’t reply to questions you didn’t fully understand. You can and you should ask for the question to be repeated or explained better. You can say: “I’m sorry. I didn’t understand. Can you please repeat that/explain that better?

Remember that you are not responsible for the court’s decision about the defendant. Carry out your role: tell what you know about what happened. The decision as to whether or not to convict the person accused of committing the crime always lies with the judge.

When asked questions to which you don’t know how to reply, there is only one answer:I don’t know”. Remember that your role is to tell what you know about what happened. Don’t make up a reply just to answer the question. Don’t assume and don’t give your opinion. Testify to the facts that you saw, heard, know of or learned directly. Testimonies based on rumour or hearsay are irrelevant.

After you testify, it is possible that the trial will proceed and that other witnesses will be questioned by the judge. You can either stay and watch the rest of the trial or leave the court. You may not talk to other witnesses who haven’t testified yet about what you know or what happened when you testified.

It is possible that you will be asked the same question more than once. Try to answer it the same way.

After all the witnesses have testified, the judge announces the day and time for reading the judgment. You don’t have to attend, but you may if you wish.

It is only natural that you can’t remember all the details or that you can’t recall some things accurately. If this happens, stay calm and don’t be afraid to say “I don’t remember”. Forgetting some things that happened in the past is a natural memory process. This may be associated with the passage of time (very often, witnesses have to testify about something that happened many months or years ago) or with discomfort caused by recalling a negative life experience.

I was a victim of crime: consequences and reactions The rights of victims of crime Criminal proceedings Who’s who in criminal proceedings


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