In Portugal, there is an interesting example of a joint initiative by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice for the development of translated forms for the act of holding someone as a defendant. These templates produced in different languages contain information on the rights and duties of defendants and could be an inspiring example for the building up of information leaflets, in different languages, informing IPV victims on their rights and duties. The above mentioned translated forms were launched in 2004 and are available in different languages (6, 8, 9 and 16 different languages according to the implementing services which include the different police authorities in Portugal and the Public Prosecution Office). The templates are available across Portugal and have been integrated on the internal web platforms of the respective services (police forces, foreign and border control services and Public Prosecution Office). Any use of a translated form by the authorities is duly registered, which enables the monitoring of the frequency by which these translated forms are being handed over to the defendants.
The experience acquired by the different services in using this type of information with foreign defendants could provide interesting leads for the future development of the information leaflets addressing IPV victims. Issues like the use of an accessible language, the selection of the different languages, the detail of the information to be provided, the procedures for handing over the information and the monitoring procedures regarding its use would certainly benefit from lessons learnt in regard to the state initiative in developing the translated forms for foreign defendants.
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3. Make it happen! Victim-centred tools
3.1. Victim Resource Box | Tools to empower victims of intimate partner violence
The Victim’s Resource Box gives a selection of tools that are made with a view to empowering women victims of intimate partner violence. The tools are grouped into three areas – information; protection and support, and access to justice. They come from several organisations and are the outcome of a survey carried out by the research team and members of the Portuguese National Advisory Committee. Some of the tools were also developed within the sphere of the Project.
Information
Information leaflet / webpage ‘Crime of domestic violence in intimate partner relationships – legal proceedings’
Description: The information contained in this webpage aims at enhancing the victims’
understanding of the legal proceedings in domestic violence cases so that it is easier for them to decide what to do about the crime. It gives them information about some of the forms of protection and the ways in which to collect evidence proving that a crime was committed.
Available at: http://espacov.org/procedimento_judicial.php Author: CooperActiva / Espaço V
Webpage ‘Infovictims’
Description: This webpage gives information about the criminal court case, the victim’s rights in all kinds of crimes and the victim support services. It has images and is written in easy-to-understand language and contains details about the victim’s rights, criminal proceedings and the role of the different entities involved in the proceedings.
Available at: http://www.infovitimas.pt/pt/001_home/001_infovictms.html
Author: Associação Portuguesa de Apoio à Vítima, APAV (Portuguese Association for Victim Support)
Citizen
Description: The webpage is hosted by the Public Prosecutor-General of the Portuguese Republic. Citizens have the chance to obtain the basic information online about several questions which have been seen to come up very frequently when a public prosecutor is in attendance. Wherever needed, this information should be complemented by the indispensable counselling given personally by the Prosecutor located at court or by a duly qualified legal consultant.
Available at: http://www.ministeriopublico.pt/perguntas-frequentes/queixa Author: Procuradoria-Geral da República, PGR (Public Prosecutor-General)
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Glossary of the most usual terms used in criminal proceedings
Appeal: In the event that there is disagreement with the sentence/ verdict or judgement / judge’s decision, the offender or the victim if she has been constituted assistant, the civil party - acting through the lawyer, and the Public Prosecutor may request an appeal. The appeal is presented in writing within a deadline of 30 days at the court in which the trial was held. The appeal has to contain all the reasons why there is a failure to agree about the sentence, taking into account an appraisal of the evidence presented and/or the application of legal rules.
Assistant: The victims who wish to become assistants in the court case may do so. An assistant is a person who has a specific vested interest in the criminal court case owing to the fact that some of her rights have been infringed upon. The victim should be represented by a lawyer (admitted or appointed in the sphere of legal aid sponsored by the Social Security Institute), pay a legal rate (which she may be exempt from paying, or which she may pay in instalments if she is able to present the respective arguments for doing so).
Case dismissed: At the end of the inquiry stage, the criminal police send all the evidence to the Public Prosecutor’s Office which then decides if there is enough proof to show that the offender has committed a crime. If the victim fails to agree that the case be shelved or dropped, she may send in a request to a judge higher up in the Prosecutor’s Office than the prosecutor who decided to drop the case, and ask him/her to charge the offender or to continue with the investigation. If it is the latter, the victim has to present new evidence that should be included in the case. A case that has been dismissed may be reopened if new relevant evidence comes to light.
Charge: At the end of the inquiry stage, the criminal police sends all the evidence collected to the Public Prosecutor’s Office which will then decide if there is sufficient proof to charge the perpetrator of having committed a crime. If there is enough evidence, the offender is formerly charged and will be given a trial. In the Charge Order which the Prosecutor issues, the name of the suspect is given, the facts of the crime that he was supposed to have committed are related, the crime that the offender has been accused of is stated, and the evidence that will be presented to the court is described.
Expert: This is a person who is called to help in the criminal proceedings so as to clarify facts or assess the evidence that needs to have specialised, technical or scientific knowledge. The expert may be called in by the judge or by the Prosecutor’s Office upon their own initiative or because one of the parties taking part in the proceedings requested the expert. The expert is paid for giving his/her specialised opinion.
Injured party: This is another name for the victim.
Inquiry: After the complaint or report, the inquiry stage is opened. It means that the criminal investigation phase has started and it will include all the inspections that are needed to prove that a crime has been committed. This stage finds out who perpetrated the crime and who is responsible for it; it discovers and collets the evidence that is relevant to the case. This is the first step in the case; it is called the inquiry stage and is carried out by the criminal police under the direction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Judge: S/he is the practitioner at Court (and in the trial) has the power to judge and make decisions about the criminal court case.
Offender: the person, who during the investigation and before he goes to trial, is suspected of having committed the crime.
Police authorities: they are the Public Safety Police (PSP) and the Republican National Guard (GNR). They are the State-run authorities that inform the Public Prosecutor’s Office after a complaint has been made or a file reported or if they have witnessed a crime being committed. They are the ones to ensure that the criminal evidence is duly preserved. They investigate and collect the evidence; inspect the scene of the crime; interview the victim, the offender and the witnesses; makes searches and tap telephone calls; send all the evidence to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and they may be called upon to give evidence at the trial.
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Preliminary inquiry: This stage is optional as it only happens when the victim who has been constituted as an assistant in the case or the offender asks that it may be held because they did not agree with the decision made by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the end of the inquiry stage. The preliminary inquiry is therefore a stage in which the grounds backing up the decision are discussed, during which the victim and the offender may present proof that for one reason or another was not taken into account during the inquiry stage, as for instance, new witnesses or documentary proof.
Public Prosecutor’s Office: This is a government agency that has been established by the Portuguese State and has the following duties; receive complaints and reports that have been filed at the police station in order to start criminal proceedings; it heads investigations and collects proof which is mainly done by the police during the inquiry stage; it appraises the evidence and decided if it is enough on which to charge the offender; at the trial it accuses the offender and presents the evidence that has been collected (witnesses, documents, other kinds of proof); if it fails to agree with the judge’s verdict, the Prosecutor present an appeal against the decision. The Public Prosecutor’s Office also has the duty to inform the victim of her rights. The Prosecutor’s Office is usually housed in the court building.
Sentence: The sentence or the verdict is the decision that has been made regarding the court case: it includes all the facts that the judge has considered as proven and the respective evidence on which the judge has based his/her decision. If the offended has been convicted, the sentence includes the punishment to be applied and the elements that need to be taken into account for effectively applying the punishment. It may happen that the offender is convicted for any or some of the crimes of which he has been accused but he may be absolved for others, or even absolved of all the crimes he was accused of committing or that he was charged with.
Provisional suspension of the case: In the inquiry/investigation stage, the Public Prosecution may suggest that the proceedings are stopped for a while so that no charge is laid against the offender. During a set period of time that is stipulated by the judge, the case is stayed or suspended and the offender is required to comply with one or several compulsory acts (e.g.
paying compensation to the victim, handing over to the State a sum of money that will go to certain private institutions engaged in doing social solidarity work, or doing community work, or not residing in certain places, not contacting certain people, etc.). If these duties are complied with during the period covered by the suspension, the case against him will be dismissed. A provisional suspension of the case may only be applied to crimes that are punishable with a prison sentence of not more than 5 years. Once the offender agrees, the victim may likewise agree if she has been constituted assistant in the legal proceedings.
Trial: If the offender is charged at the end of the inquiry stage, or if there has been a preliminary inquiry, the examining judge issues a verdict in the form of an accusation order;
the case then goes to court to be tried in a trial. The trial takes place in a courtroom. The purpose of the trial is to see whether there is enough evidence on which to convict the offender of the crime he has been charged with. If there is, then he is sentenced. The trial also talks about and decides whether the victim and possibly other people who have been harmed in some way and who have requested compensation, have the right to receive it.
Victim: The person who suffered an attack against her life and /or against her physical integrity, was emotionally, psychologically or sexually abused and /or has suffered harm or material loss.
Witness: This is anyone who has been present when the crime was committed or who knows something relevant that can be used to find out the truth. In principle, anyone who has been cited as a witness is obliged to present his/her testimony with the exception of the offender’s close family who may refuse to testify.
Source: Infovitimas; ABC da Justiça