REPORT

The complaint is regulated in arts. 259 to 269 of the LECrim and consists of bringing to the attention of a judicial body or Authority the news of the commission of a crime.

Most crimes are public, so the complainant can be anyone who has the necessary capacity to know and understand. However, there are certain crimes that can only be prosecuted by means of a complaint by the injured party (for example, the crime of damages for gross negligence) and, in this case, the possibility of filing a complaint is a right of the injured party in question.

Obligation to report criminal acts

Citizens are obliged to report criminal acts that they witness as direct witnesses and, if they fail to do so, they may be fined (art. 259 of the LECrim). However, exempt from this obligation to report are persons who are not of sound mind, close relatives of the perpetrator and persons who are subject to professional secrecy (e.g., lawyers and attorneys with respect to their clients).

What information must be included in the complaint?

The complaint may be made either orally or in writing, but in either case the following elements must be included:

• The criminal acts of which you are aware must be described.
• If it is submitted in writing, it must be signed by the complainant, while if it is submitted orally, the identity of the complainant must be verified by personal appearance.
• It is not necessary to identify the defendant. In fact, one of the purposes of the pre-trial phase (the first phase of criminal proceedings) is precisely the identification of those responsible for the crime.

Neither a lawyer nor an attorney is required to file a complaint.

Before which body should the complaint be filed?

The citizen is not obliged to file a complaint before the competent court, but it is sufficient to file it before any judicial authority or authority in charge of the prevention and investigation of crimes, such as the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Police…