If you are the victim of a criminal offence in the Netherlands, you do not have to start separate civil proceedings to get compensation. You can join the criminal case as an injured party (benadeelde partij) under Article 51f of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure (Wetboek van Strafvordering, Sv), and the criminal court then decides on your claim at the same hearing, without court fees; the main exception is a claim that is too complex for the criminal case, which the court leaves to the civil courts.
The route is quick and inexpensive, but it has limits. Below you will find who may claim, what you can claim, how you join, how the State helps collect the money, and what happens if the court does not decide your claim.
When does the criminal court decide your claim, and when not?
The criminal court decides the claim if it can do so without placing a disproportionate burden on the criminal proceedings. If the claim is complex or heavily disputed, the court declares it inadmissible (niet-ontvankelijk) in whole or in part.
This rule is in Article 361(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Inadmissibility is not a rejection. The civil route remains open for whatever the criminal court did not decide.
Who may claim compensation in a criminal case?
The person who suffered the loss directly as a result of the offence. In certain cases, relatives and heirs may also claim.
If the victim has died, the relatives listed in Articles 6:107 and 6:108 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW) may claim funeral expenses and loss of maintenance. Since 1 January 2019, a fixed group of close relatives can also claim bereavement damages (affectieschade). An heir may pursue a claim that the deceased already had.
Someone who has taken over the loss, such as an insurer that has paid out, cannot join the criminal proceedings. That party must go to the civil court.
What can you claim?
In practice there are three categories: material loss, non-material loss, and the specific claims of bereavement and shock damages. You can also claim statutory interest.
Material loss
Material loss is everything with a price attached. Think of medical costs that were not reimbursed, damaged property, loss of income, travel to hospital and to the hearing, and the cost of help at home. The legal basis is Articles 6:95 and 6:96 of the Civil Code.
Receipts matter. A figure without evidence is the most common reason for a claim being reduced.
Non-material loss (smartengeld)
Non-material loss compensates pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life under Article 6:106 of the Civil Code. The court assesses it by comparing awards in similar cases, not by a formula.
In criminal cases the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) has accepted that some offences are so serious that non-material loss can be assumed without further evidence, but in most cases you need to show the actual effects on you.
Bereavement damages and shock damages
These two are often confused. Bereavement damages compensate a fixed group of close relatives for the death, or the serious and permanent injury, of the victim. The amounts are fixed by regulation.
Shock damages compensate your own mental injury caused by directly witnessing the offence or its consequences. In its judgment of 28 June 2022 (ECLI:NL:HR:2022:958), the Supreme Court clarified the requirements for criminal cases. A diagnosis of a recognised psychiatric condition is no longer required. The injury must be serious enough in nature, duration or consequences, and it must be objectively established, normally by a qualified expert such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or general practitioner.
Statutory interest
Statutory interest runs from the day the loss arose. Claim it expressly. It is often forgotten and can add up over a long procedure.
How do you join the criminal proceedings?
You join with the injured party form (voegingsformulier). Victim Support Netherlands (Slachtofferhulp Nederland) or the Public Prosecution Service’s victim desk usually sends it once a suspect has been identified.
File the form before the hearing starts. You can still make a claim at the hearing itself, but a well-documented form filed in advance is much more likely to succeed.
Evidence is everything. Invoices, medical records, income statements from before and after, photos and repair quotes do the work. The suspect may dispute the claim, and a figure that cannot be traced back to a document will usually be rejected or estimated lower.
How does the court assess each item of the claim?
Item by item, based on documents. The example below shows how that works.
An illustrative example: someone is assaulted and ends up with a broken wrist, four weeks off work and a damaged phone.
- The phone is the simplest item. A purchase invoice and a repair quote establish the loss and its amount, with a deduction for depreciation if the phone was not new.
- Medical costs are shown by the health insurer’s statement of what was not reimbursed and what fell under the compulsory excess (eigen risico). The excess can be recovered.
- Loss of income is shown by payslips from before and after the assault. A self-employed person uses figures for the same period in earlier years.
- Travel to hospital and to the hearing is claimed at a fixed rate per kilometre.
Non-material loss is the item most often left without evidence. A doctor’s letter describing the injury, the treatment and the expected recovery does more for this part of the claim than any description of how the incident felt. If the effects are psychological, a statement from a treating practitioner is essential. Without it, the court has nothing to base an award on.
What is the compensation order, and does the State pay in advance?
If the court awards your claim, it will usually also impose a compensation order (schadevergoedingsmaatregel) under Article 36f of the Dutch Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht). The Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB) then collects the money for you, so you do not have to chase the convicted person yourself.
The advance payment scheme (voorschotregeling) goes further. If the convicted person has not paid in full within eight months after the judgment became final, the State pays you the outstanding amount. For violent and sexual offences there is no maximum. For other offences the advance is capped at €5,000. The State then tries to recover the money from the convicted person at its own risk.
What happens if your claim is declared inadmissible?
You can take the claim to the civil court. Inadmissibility means only that the criminal case was not the right place to decide it, usually because it needed more evidence or debate than the criminal case allowed.
A claim for personal injury that is left to the civil courts is a specialist field outside the criminal case. For that part, a specialised personal injury lawyer is the right point of contact.
Before the civil court, the criminal judgment carries a lot of weight. Under Article 161 of the Code of Civil Procedure, a final criminal conviction counts as conclusive evidence of the facts on which it is based, unless the other party proves otherwise.
If the offender is unknown, cannot pay or is never prosecuted, victims of violent and sexual offences can apply to the Violent Offences Compensation Fund (Schadefonds Geweldsmisdrijven). It pays a fixed amount based on the seriousness of the injury, regardless of any criminal case.
Can you recover the costs of legal assistance?
Yes. Under Article 592a of the Code of Criminal Procedure you can claim the costs of legal assistance, and the court decides on them separately from the claim itself.
Victims of serious violent and sexual offences are also entitled to free legal assistance from a victims’ lawyer, regardless of their income.
Which deadlines apply, and what happens on appeal?
You can maintain your claim on appeal, but you cannot increase it. Meanwhile, the ordinary civil limitation periods keep running for anything left to the civil courts.
If you joined the case at first instance, your claim stays part of the case on appeal, up to the amount you claimed at first instance (Article 421 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). If your claim was awarded in full and only the defendant appeals, you do not need to do anything to keep it alive. It is still wise to check your position with the victim desk rather than assume it.
A claim in tort is in principle time-barred five years after you became aware of both the loss and the person responsible (Article 3:310 of the Civil Code). For loss caused by a crime, the claim does not expire as long as the criminal prosecution is not yet time-barred. Still, do not leave a decision of inadmissibility lying around.
Do you need a lawyer?
Not always, but the quality of the file decides the outcome, and it has to be right before the hearing, not after. A lawyer can help you document the claim, present it at the hearing and take the remaining part to the civil court if needed.
In summary
- As a victim you can join the criminal case as an injured party under Article 51f of the Code of Criminal Procedure, without court fees.
- You can claim material loss, non-material loss and, in specific cases, bereavement or shock damages, plus statutory interest.
- Evidence decides the outcome: every amount should be backed by a document.
- With a compensation order the CJIB collects for you; after eight months the State advances the amount, without limit for violent and sexual offences and up to €5,000 for other offences.
- If your claim is declared inadmissible, you can still go to the civil court; watch the five-year limitation period.
Frequently asked questions
Does joining the criminal case cost anything?
No. You pay no court fee for joining as an injured party, which is one of the main advantages over civil proceedings. You can claim the costs of legal assistance separately under Article 592a of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
What happens if the suspect is acquitted?
If the suspect is acquitted, the criminal court does not decide your claim (Article 361(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). That does not end the matter. The civil standard of proof differs from the criminal one, and a claim in tort under Article 6:162 of the Civil Code can still succeed before the civil court on the same facts.
Can I claim if I was not the direct victim?
Only in the situations the law provides for: the relatives listed in Articles 6:107 and 6:108 of the Civil Code, the close relatives entitled to bereavement damages, and people who suffered their own mental injury by directly witnessing the offence or its consequences. Distress at what happened to someone else is not enough on its own.
How long does payment take?
Collection starts once the judgment is final. If a compensation order was imposed and the amount has not been collected within eight months, the State pays the balance under the advance payment scheme, up to €5,000 for offences other than violent and sexual offences.
Unsure where you stand? Tell us about your situation. We will let you know your options within one working day.
How Law & More can help you with this is explained on our criminal lawyer page.
