If you are a family member of a victim of a homicide crime, you should follow the steps set out below.
1) Please read the information regarding the right to an advance payment of compensation.
In the event of the victim’s death, persons entitled to maintenance under Article 2009(1) of the Civil Code, as well as those living in a de facto union with the victim pursuant to Law No. 7/2001 of 11 May, are entitled to apply for an advance payment of compensation.
According to article 2, paragraph 2 of Law No. 104/09, of September 14, the right to obtain an advance payment of compensation includes, in the case of the death of the crime victim, those individuals who, under the terms of paragraph 1 of article 2009 of the Civil Code, are entitled to maintenance, and those who, under Law No. 7/2001, of May 11, lived in a de facto union with the victim.
The following persons have standing to apply:
- The spouse or former spouse;
- The descendants;
- The ascendants;
- The siblings;
- Uncles, during the beneficiary’s minority;
- f) The stepparent, regarding minor stepchildren who were or were under the care of the deceased spouse at the time of death;
- g) The surviving person who had been living in a de facto union for more than two years with the deceased victim.
The individuals listed above, for the purposes of assessing compensation requests to be granted by the State, are referred to as Indirect Victims.
The right to an advance payment of compensation remains even if the identity of the perpetrator is unknown or, for another reason, they cannot be accused or convicted.
The granting of the application is subject to the cumulative fulfilment of the statutory requirements, in particular:
- that the indirect victim was financially dependent on the deceased person (maintenance regime);
- that the incident caused a significant disruption to the indirect victim’s standard and quality of life;
- that effective compensation has not been obtained through enforcement of a conviction in respect of a claim brought under Articles 71 to 84 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, or that it is reasonably foreseeable that the offender and/or civilly liable parties will not provide compensation, and that it is not possible to obtain effective and adequate reparation from another source.
In such cases, only pecuniary damages will be taken into account. for the purposes of the granting of an advance payment of compensation by the State.
The information provided does not replace consultation of the applicable legislation:
Law No. 104/2009 of 14 September, which establishes the framework for the granting of compensation to victims of violent crime and domestic violence;
Criminal Code;
Code of Criminal Procedure.
To proceed, you must prepare the required documents (Step 2).
2) To continue, you must prepare the required documents.
To submit your compensation request as an indirect victim of a homicide, you must first consult and gather the documents listed below
Mandatory Documents:
- Identification document(s) of the indirect victim [showing Civil ID number (CC or other), Taxpayer ID (NIF), and Social Security number (NISS)]
When applicable:
- Identification document of the Applicant if they are not the indirect victim (showing Civil ID number)
- Identification document of the Legal Representative (which should include the Civil Identification Number)
- Judicial order granting guardian status if the applicant has a legal guardianship relationship with the victim.
- Judicial Order regulating parental responsibilities if the Indirect Victim is a minor and the parents do not live together as a couple
- Judicial Order declaring that the Indirect Victim is under the Assisted Adult Regime if the Indirect Victim is in this situation
- Power of Attorney if the Applicant is acting as a Lawyer
- Judicial Order appointing the Applicant as Court-Appointed Defender if the Applicant is acting in this capacity
Other Mandatory Documents:
- Tax income statement of the Indirect Victim for the year prior to the crime, the year of the crime, and the year after the crime
Other Relevant Documents:
- Copy of the Indictment, in case the final decision has not yet been rendered in the criminal case, that is, in case there is no Judgment/Decision yet.
- Certificate of Sentence or Judgement with date of final and unappealable judgement or Order of Dismissal
- Copy of the Judgment(s) from Higher Court(s) if an appeal was made
- Copy of the enforcement request (and its decision) if the sentence has already been enforced
- Documents proving the material damages suffered
- Documents proving the income of the Indirect Victim (employment income, unemployment benefit, family allowance, sickness benefits, Social Integration Income, solidarity supplement for the elderly, old-age pension, disability pension, or social inclusion benefits)
Only documents in PDF format will be accepted.
To continue, you must complete the form (Step 3).
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