If you are a victim of a violent crime, you are entitled to monetary compensation.

You are entitled to monetary compensation for:

– costs of treatment and medical devices (maximum amount up to 2,000 EUR in MKD equivalent)

– lost earnings (maximum amount up to 2,000 EUR in MKD equivalent)

– funeral expenses (only if you have not charged them on another basis)

– lost alimony (maximum amount of 4,500 EUR in MKD equivalent) and

– solidarity assistance for suffered consequences of the crime (maximum amount up to 500 EUR in MKD equivalent value)

The amount of monetary compensation that you can receive for all types cannot exceed the total amount of 5,000 EUR in MKD equivalents.

It is best to submit the request for monetary compensation on the form that you can find in this information material or pick it up from the offices of the citizens’ associations registered for the provision of free legal aid or to the regional departments of the Ministries of Justice.

You can submit the request in the Macedonian language and its Cyrillic script or in another official language spoken by at least 20% of the citizens and its script or in the language you understand.

If you use your own request, pay attention to the following mandatory elements that the request must contain:

• personal data of the petitioner, i.e., the victim, if it is not the same person as the petitioner:
• description of the crime (date, place and method of execution),
• date when the commission of the crime was recorded or reported to the police or the public prosecutor’s office,
• description of the consequences of the crime,
• statements about whether the victim is aware that criminal proceedings are being conducted against the perpetrator of the crime, before which competent authority, as well as the case number under which the criminal proceedings are being conducted,
• a statement on the access to compensation recognized by this law accessed on other legal grounds and
• the type of compensation the victim is seeking

Photocopies are submitted and the original or certified copy of the following documents are submitted along with the request for initiation of the compensation procedure:

• personal identification document,
• proof of citizenship, domicile or residence, except for a victim without citizenship or a victim who is an unregistered person in the birth register,
• appropriate document from the police or from the public prosecutor’s office that the crime has been registered or reported,
• proof (medical documentation) stating that the victim has suffered serious physical injuries, severe mental or physical health impairment,
• death certificate, if the victim died as a result of the crime,
• proof of incapacity for work in accordance with pension and disability insurance regulations,
• proof that the intermediate victim paid the funeral expenses,
• a self-signed declaration of non-receipt of compensation recognized by this law accessed on other legal grounds,
• their personal transaction account details and
• other documents available to the victim, which prove that the conditions for compensation have been met.

No administrative fees are payable in this procedure.

For foreign citizens/stateless persons

You have the right to an interpreter during the entire procedure, and the costs are borne by the state.

Along with the documents that you will submit in a foreign language, you must also attach a certified translation in the Macedonian language. Translation costs are covered by the state. You should report them in your request to be reimbursed by the Commission.

After receiving your request with the necessary documents, the Commission will issue you a confirmation of receipt of the request, which specifies the contact person responsible for the procedure and the deadline by which the decision will be made, if possible.

If, during the procedure for exercising the right to monetary compensation, you exercise a right in accordance with another law, you are obliged to notify the Commission of this within seven days of exercising the right, and you must submit proof of the exercised right and compensation.

During the procedure, as an exception, the Commission may call you to give a statement for which it compiles a record or an official note. Ask for a copy of what you have declared and signed.

If the submitted request is incomplete, the Commission will call you within 30 days from the day of receipt of the notice to correct or supplement the request with evidence necessary for making a decision.

During the entire procedure, the Commission pays attention to the personal data that you have submitted and is obliged to ensure secrecy and protection against misuse.

• • a decision rejecting the request as untimely, impermissible or submitted by an unauthorized person,
  • a decision rejecting the request as irregular or incomplete, if the petitioner is called to correct or supplement it, and does not do so within the given period,
  • a decision accepting the request for compensation in whole or in part and determining the type and amount of monetary compensation,
  • decision declining the request as unfounded.

  The decision on the right to monetary compensation is delivered to you in writing at the address you provided in the request, without delay.

   

  For child victims/persons with a limited legal capacity or deprived of legal capacity

  The decision on the right to monetary compensation is delivered in writing to the address that the guardian or parent indicated in the request, without delay.

  If you have changed your address in the meantime, immediately after the change you are obligated to notify the Commission of your new address.

  The request will be declined when the damage has been settled in full by compensation from the perpetrator of the crime.

Within 30 days from the day of receipt of the decision approving the payment of compensation, the Commission makes a payment exclusively to your transaction account that you will submit to the Commission.

For child victims/persons with a limited legal capacity or deprived of legal capacity

The Commission makes a payment to the transaction account of the victim’s parent or guardian.

If the Commission pays you monetary compensation, and you obtain full or partial compensation from the perpetrator of the crime, the state has the right to ask you to return the amount that was paid to you.

Administrative fees are not paid in the procedure for obtaining monetary compensation.

If you are not a citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia, during the entire procedure you have the right to an interpreter at the expense of the Commission.

During the procedure for exercising the right to monetary compensation, you have the right to free legal aid.

To get primary legal aid when filling out the request, you need to contact the authorized official from the regional departments of the Ministry of Justice according to your place of residence/accommodation, an authorized association[1] or a legal clinic (part of the faculties of law).

You can also request secondary legal aid, which includes free representation by a lawyer in the entire procedure. The afore-stated must be previously approved by a Certificate issued by the regional department of the Ministry of Justice or by a Decision from the Ministry of Justice.

The authorized official from the regional departments of the Ministry of Justice according to your place of residence/accommodation, the authorized association or the legal clinic (as part of the faculties of law) can help you in the procedure for obtaining secondary legal aid.

[1] https://www.pravda.gov.mk/bpp